Traditional rank tracking checks a keyword against a results page. AI answers do not work that way. Responses vary between sessions, between tools and between users, and there is no public ranking to read. So tracking is done by sampling. You build a list of real buyer prompts, run them repeatedly against ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and others, and record whether you were named, whether you were cited with a link, and whether the facts stated about you were right. Tools exist for this, and the field is young enough that methods differ a lot.
Even a manual version is worth running monthly. Pick fifteen prompts a customer would type, such as best HVAC company in Raleigh or who repairs metal roofs near me, and log the results in a spreadsheet. You will usually find two things. Competitors you did not expect show up repeatedly, and some answers get your service area or your services wrong. The second finding is the more useful one, because fixing a wrong fact usually means correcting your own site or profile where the model found it.
Send the site over. We will tell you what is broken, what you could rank for, and whether AI search knows you exist. No charge and no pitch deck.
