Knowledge base · free checklist
Does AI mention your business? Start with these five customer questions.
A NorthAnswer checklist for a fifteen-minute look of your own — and for understanding what you do and do not know afterwards.
Read it here, or print it and fill it in. No e-mail address needed.
Download the checklist as PDFE-mail me the checklist →
- What you can do with it
- See for yourself, in fifteen minutes, whether an AI mentions your business for five real customer questions — and who does get named.
- What you get
- Five example questions, a table for your notes and an honest explanation of what one test does and does not tell you. Printable; no e-mail address needed.
- How you start
- Write down your five questions in step 1, ask an AI assistant in step 2 and read your notes back in step 3.
Why this checklist
More and more customers ask an AI assistant for advice before they call anyone: “who can help me with…”. The AI answers with two or three names and a reason. Whether your business is among them shows up nowhere in your statistics. This checklist helps you look for yourself in three steps. At the end you know what you saw — and what one look does not tell you.
Step 1 — Write down five real customer questions
Write the question the way a customer types it, not the way you name your service. Not “GEO service provider”, but “who can help me get found in ChatGPT?”. Use your town or region if customers do.
Five questions from one trade (invented example, accountant in Leiden):
- Which accountant in Leiden suits a freelancer who is just starting out?
- Can I fully outsource my VAT return to an accountant?
- What does an accountant cost per month for a freelancer?
- A personal accountant or an online package — what suits a sole trader?
- Which accountant helps a starter through the whole first year?
Your five questions:
Tip: ask three customers how they would phrase it. Their words beat yours.
Step 2 — Ask each question to an AI and note what you see
Open an AI assistant (for example ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity or Grok), start a new conversation and ask question 1 literally, without naming your business. Note per question:
| Question | Which businesses are named? (in order) | Is yours among them? | What reason does the AI give? | Does the AI name sources (sites, lists, reviews)? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | yes / no | |||
| 2 | yes / no | |||
| 3 | yes / no | |||
| 4 | yes / no | |||
| 5 | yes / no |
Watch for three things:
- Who does get named. Those are the names your customer goes on with.
- The reason. “Specialised in…”, “good reviews”, “transparent pricing” — these are the arguments the AI draws from its sources.
- The sources. Ask: “What is that based on?” Member lists, trade publications, review sites and comparison sites often weigh more than your own website.
Step 3 — Read your notes honestly: this is a snapshot
One answer says little. The same question gives a different answer tomorrow, another one in another app, and what you see depends on your history and settings. So repeat at least one question three times in a fresh conversation and see whether the same names return.
What you now do know: whether you appear for these questions, at this moment, in this app — and who does.
What you do not know: whether that was chance, how other AI assistants answer, and what you should change first.
My notes:
How this differs from a pilot measurement
| How this differs from a pilot measurement | Looking yourself with this checklist | NorthAnswer pilot measurement (€197 excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| How often | once per question, maybe three times | each question five times, across five AI providers: 125 answers |
| Where | the app you use, with your settings | the providers' official connections, the same for everyone |
| Recorded | what you write down | every answer kept with date, time and an evidence reference; the five questions frozen with a fingerprint |
| Outcome | a first impression | a five-page report: who gets named and why, which sources count in your market, and at most three substantiated pieces of improvement advice |
| Walkthrough | — | 30 minutes, personally, with Wouter |
| Not included | — | a re-measurement; that belongs to the Build package and Maintenance, and you only buy it if you want to |
| Promise | none | none: nobody can force an AI to name you. You get evidence of where you stand, no guarantee of mentions |