- How to manually audit your brand across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity in under 30 minutes
- The exact query set that reveals how AI systems position your brand
- What signals indicate a healthy vs weak AI presence
- How to read the results and prioritise your next content move
Why a Manual AI Audit Still Matters
Before investing in any AI visibility tool, a quick manual audit tells you whether you have a problem worth solving. Many teams skip this step and either over-invest in optimisation or miss obvious gaps that a 20-minute check would have caught.
A free manual audit covers three things: whether AI mentions your brand at all, what it says when it does, and which competitors it recommends instead. That is enough to know where to start.
Step 1: Build Your Query Set
Do not search for your brand name. Search for what your buyers search for. Think in buyer intent, not brand terms.
For each of these four query types, write two to three versions using your product category:
| Query Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Best-in-category | "best AI visibility tools for B2B SaaS" |
| Problem-led | "my brand does not show up in ChatGPT, how do I fix it" |
| Competitor comparison | "alternatives to [competitor name]" |
| Use case specific | "AI visibility tool for D2C brands in India" |
Run each query across ChatGPT (GPT-4o), Gemini, and Perplexity. Use fresh incognito sessions to avoid personalisation bias.
Step 2: Record What You See
For each query, note four things in a simple spreadsheet:
- Is your brand mentioned? Yes, No, or Only in passing
- What position? First named, listed among many, or buried at the end
- What is said about you? Copy the exact description AI gives of your brand
- Who else is mentioned? Note competitor names and their descriptions
Step 3: Score Your Results
After running all queries, assess five dimensions that AI systems weigh when deciding which brand to recommend:
| Factor | What to Look For | Red Flag |
|---|---|---|
| Use Case Coverage | Does AI match you to the right problem? | Mentioned for generic queries only |
| Positioning Accuracy | Does AI describe your product correctly? | Wrong category, outdated feature set |
| Trust Signals | Does AI cite reviews, case studies, or data points? | Described vaguely with no evidence |
| Pricing Clarity | Does AI mention your pricing tier or range? | Priced incorrectly or price not mentioned |
| Competitor Gap | Are competitors mentioned in queries where you are not? | Competitor named; your brand absent |
Step 4: Identify Your Three Biggest Gaps
From your audit, list the three queries where the gap between your brand and the top-mentioned competitor is largest. These are your first content priorities.
For each gap, ask: what content does our competitor have published that we do not? The answer is almost always a case study, a use-case landing page, or a detailed comparison post.
Step 5: Decide Whether to Automate
A manual audit takes around 30 to 45 minutes and gives you a snapshot. The limitation is that it captures one moment in time and covers only the queries you think to test.
Automated tracking runs the same query set weekly across all major AI platforms, tracks position changes over time, and alerts you when a competitor gains or loses mentions. For teams running more than one brand or more than 20 tracked queries, the manual approach becomes impractical within a few months.
Skip the Spreadsheet
Jeevan AI runs your full audit automatically across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity and scores every buying factor for your brand and your competitors.
Run Free Scan NowWhat to Do With Your Audit Results
The most common finding from a first audit is that AI describes your brand accurately for broad category queries but misses your specific use cases. The fix is publishing detailed use-case content, not homepage rewrites.
If AI mentions competitors in queries where you do not appear at all, you have a coverage gap. The fastest fix is a comparison post that directly addresses the query, names the competing options, and clearly explains the scenario where your product is the right choice.
If AI describes your brand incorrectly, the fix is publishing clear, structured, authoritative content that corrects the record. FAQ schema, structured product descriptions, and third-party coverage all help AI systems update their understanding of your brand over time.