What questions should I ask ChatGPT to see if it recommends my business?

To test your business on ChatGPT, ask it what your customers ask before they choose someone: who to hire, how much it costs, what your own business offers, how you compare with a rival, and how to go about the job. Type each one the way a customer would, as a full sentence, and see whether you're named and which pages ChatGPT links to.

Questions about who to hire, prices and a business's own details are the ones ChatGPT looked up on the web every time in our test. So those answers show you which pages it found. Below is a question bank for ten Malaysian trades, which you can download, and how to check whether ChatGPT cites your website.

Which questions should I ask ChatGPT to test whether it recommends my business?

The questions that test whether ChatGPT recommends your business come in five types, and each shows you something different. Ask at least one of each.

Our test used short keyword questions, such as "good dentist in Petaling Jaya". People usually type fuller sentences into ChatGPT, so the examples here are written that way. The named businesses we tested were large brands, so a small business may find less about itself online.

A few more things we saw:

• Dates. Questions with a date in them, like public holidays or this year's tax rate, were also looked up every time.
• Malay and Chinese. ChatGPT skipped the web search a few times when asked in Malay or Chinese: 5 answers out of 90 in our language test, most of them on one solar question.
• Festive hours. If your hours change over Raya or Chinese New Year, ask about that too.

Why should I test my business with the questions customers ask ChatGPT?

Test with customer questions because those are the ones ChatGPT goes to the web for, so the answers show which pages it uses. A question with your business's name in it checks your facts. Only a "who should I hire" question shows whether ChatGPT recommends you.

General questions work differently. ChatGPT answered "how to choose a renovation contractor" and "what is SEO" from memory every time, with no sources. An answer from memory links to no page, so it can't show you which pages ChatGPT reads.

What questions should I ask ChatGPT for my trade?

Ask ChatGPT the questions your own customers type, in their own words. Pick your trade below, change the town to yours, and put your business and a competitor in the brackets.

Accounting and company-secretary work is often done remotely, so those questions leave out the town; add yours if your clients are local. Expect fewer names for these two trades. In our language test, ChatGPT often gave advice on how to choose a firm instead of naming one.

Renovation contractor

• Can you recommend a good renovation contractor in Shah Alam? I want to redo my condo kitchen.
• Roughly how much does it cost to renovate a condo kitchen in Malaysia?
• Is [your business name] a good contractor for a kitchen renovation?
• Which is better for a kitchen renovation, [your business name] or [competitor name]?
• What should I check before I hire a renovation contractor?

Aircon servicing

• Who's reliable for aircon servicing near Puchong? My unit keeps leaking water.
• How much does aircon servicing usually cost in KL?
• Does [your business name] do aircon chemical wash on weekends?
• Should I go with [your business name] or [competitor name] for aircon servicing?
• How often should I service my aircon in Malaysia's weather?

Dental clinic

• Can you suggest a good dentist in PJ? My son is scared of dentists.
• How much does scaling and polishing cost in Malaysia?
• Is [your clinic name] open on Sundays?
• I'm deciding between [your clinic name] and [competitor name] for braces. Which should I pick?
• What should I look for when choosing a dentist for braces?

Tuition centre

• My daughter sits SPM next year. Can you recommend a good tuition centre in Cheras?
• How much does SPM tuition usually cost per month in Malaysia?
• What SPM subjects does [your centre name] teach?
• Is [your centre name] or [competitor name] better for SPM?
• How do I choose a good SPM tuition centre?

Bakery and cakes

• Where can I get a halal birthday cake in Subang Jaya?
• How much does a custom birthday cake cost in Malaysia?
• Is [your bakery name] halal certified?
• Which makes better birthday cakes, [your bakery name] or [competitor name]?
• How far ahead should I order a custom birthday cake?

Wedding photographer

• Can you recommend a wedding photographer in Penang? We're getting married next year.
• How much does a wedding photographer usually cost in Malaysia?
• What wedding packages does [your studio name] offer?
• Should we book [your studio name] or [competitor name] for our wedding photos?
• What should we ask a wedding photographer before booking?

Hotel or homestay

• Which hotel in Penang is good for kids and has a pool?
• How much is a hotel in George Town for a weekend night?
• Does [your hotel name] have free parking?
• For a family stay, is [your hotel name] or [competitor name] better?
• Which part of George Town is best to stay in?

Solar installer

• I want solar panels on my terrace house to cut my TNB bill. Which installer should I use?
• How much does it cost to put solar panels on a terrace house in Malaysia?
• Does [your company name] give a warranty on its solar panels?
• Which is better for solar, [your company name] or [competitor name]?
• How do I choose a solar installer in Malaysia?

Accounting firm

• Can you recommend an accounting firm for a small Sdn Bhd in Malaysia?
• How much do accounting firms in Malaysia charge a small business?
• What services does [your firm name] offer?
• Should I use [your firm name] or [competitor name] for my Sdn Bhd's tax filing?
• How do I choose an accountant for my Sdn Bhd?

Company secretary

• Which company secretary service would you recommend in Malaysia?
• How much does a company secretary cost in Malaysia?
• Can [your firm name] help me register a new Sdn Bhd?
• Which is better as a company secretary, [your firm name] or [competitor name]?
• How do I register a Sdn Bhd in Malaysia?

Example questions in Malay and Chinese

If your customers ask in Malay or Chinese, ask in their language too. A few examples:

• kontraktor renovate dapur kondo di Shah Alam yang bagus · 莎阿南公寓厨房装修，找哪间装修公司好
• doktor gigi yang bagus di Petaling Jaya · 八打灵再也好的牙医推荐
• pusat tuisyen SPM di Cheras · 蕉赖SPM补习中心推荐
• hotel di Penang yang sesuai untuk kanak-kanak dan ada kolam renang · 槟城亲子酒店推荐，有泳池的
• firma perakaunan terbaik untuk perniagaan kecil di Malaysia · 马来西亚会计公司推荐，小生意报税

All 50 questions, with Malay and Chinese versions and a note on why each type matters, are in the download. Swap in the words your own customers use.

How do I check whether ChatGPT cites my website?

To check whether ChatGPT cites your website, look at the links under each answer, ask while logged out, and ask more than once. Your analytics can also show visits from ChatGPT.

Two words are worth keeping apart. You're mentioned when your name appears in the answer. You're cited when the answer links to your page as its source. You can be mentioned without being cited.

Which ChatGPT source links show that it cited my website?

The pages ChatGPT cited appear as links in the answer, and in the app under a Sources button. If your site is linked in the answer, ChatGPT cited you. The Sources panel may also list pages it only looked at, so look for your site among the linked ones.

If a directory or a competitor's page is linked instead, that's the page ChatGPT used for the question. Click through, too. OpenAI itself warns that "Search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect."¹

Why should I check ChatGPT citations of my website while logged out, and more than once?

Ask while logged out because your own account remembers you, and a new customer's doesn't. OpenAI says that "If memory is enabled, ChatGPT may use relevant saved memories when rewriting a search query", and that "People who are not signed in can also use web search."¹ Open a private browser window, don't sign in, and ask there. ChatGPT can still guess roughly where you are, so keep the town in the question.

Ask each question more than once, because the answer changes from one try to the next. In our language test, very few businesses were named every time the same question was asked. We ask each question three times, and so should you.

How do I see visits from ChatGPT in my website analytics?

Look in Google Analytics, or a similar tool, for visits from the source "chatgpt.com". OpenAI's publisher FAQ says: "ChatGPT automatically includes the UTM parameter utm_source=chatgpt.com in referral URLs."²

Treat the number as a minimum. Someone who reads your name in ChatGPT and then Googles you, or shares your link on WhatsApp, can arrive without the tag. Apps built on OpenAI's technology can also send visits tagged "openai", so check for that too.

What can't asking ChatGPT these questions tell me about my business?

These questions show you what ChatGPT said to you, on that day. Three things they can't show:

• Why ChatGPT picked someone. You see who it named and which pages it linked, not how it decided.
• What every customer sees. ChatGPT can tailor answers to where a person is and what it remembers about them¹, so a customer in another town may see different names.
• Exactly what the app does. We tested through OpenAI's API, which can behave differently from the ChatGPT app.

How should I test my business on ChatGPT and act on the answers?

Ask the questions above, write down what you see, then fix the pages behind the answers. For each question, note whether you were named, who was named instead, and which pages were linked.

Where are the opportunities in my ChatGPT test answers?

Look for the questions where your own page could be the one ChatGPT uses:

• Prices. ChatGPT looked up every price question on the web. If your price ranges aren't on your site, the figures it gives will come from someone else's page.
• Your own details. Asked about a named business, ChatGPT linked to that business's own website in most answers. For halal status, it also checked JAKIM's halal directory. Our reading: hours, areas, halal status and packages written plainly on your site give ChatGPT your facts to cite.
• Who gets named. Few businesses were named every time the same question was asked, so the list isn't settled yet.

What are my first steps to test my business on ChatGPT?

Start here:

1. Request EasyFound's free check. See what ChatGPT says when customers ask about your trade, then go through the answers with us on a free call.
2. Download the question bank and pick the five questions for your trade. Change the town and fill in your business and a competitor.
3. Ask each question three times while logged out, and save each answer with its date and links.
4. Check your analytics for visits from chatgpt.com, and note the number as your starting point.

EasyFound, an AI SEO service for Malaysian businesses, puts your customers' questions to six AI tools in English, Bahasa Melayu and Chinese, and does the work to get your business into the answers. Start with the free check below.