Each AI platform shows different evidence about where an answer came from, so checking your visibility across Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini means using the same questions and the same method on all three while recording what each one lets you see. The bottom line: run each question five times per platform, log whether you are named and cited, and compare platform by platform, because their sources and behavior differ.
What each platform shows
| Platform | How it answers | What you can record |
|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | Searches the web for each question and lists numbered sources with the answer | Whether you are named, whether your domain is among the sources, which other domains appear |
| Gemini | Answers can use Google Search grounding, and Google's AI surfaces link supporting pages | Whether you are named and which links or sources are shown, where displayed |
| Claude | Answers from training, and from web search when that feature is enabled for the account | Whether you are named, and sources when search is used |
Product features change by plan, region, and version, so check what your account shows before you start. The method does not depend on any one interface: for each run you record the same fields.
Why the platforms differ
Studies of citation sources find real differences. Profound's analysis of 680 million citations found Reddit was 46.7 percent of Perplexity's top source share, 21 percent of Google AI Overviews', and 11.3 percent of ChatGPT's, and Wikipedia was ChatGPT's most cited source. One 2026 review adds that Gemini spreads across community and video surfaces and Claude leans toward documentation and primary sources, though it notes no assistant publishes what it cites and that Claude appears in none of the public studies, so its ranking is inferred. Use the pattern, and test on your own questions.
The method
- Use one question list for all platforms. 10 customer questions with place and situation.
- Start a fresh session for each run. Do not carry over earlier conversation.
- Run each question five times per platform. That is 50 runs per platform.
- Record, per run: named or not, position in any list, your site cited or not, other businesses named, and sources shown.
- Calculate the share per platform. Runs that name you divided by total runs.
- Compare across platforms. Note where you appear in one and not another.
- Read the cited sources for each platform. They show where to build presence.
What differences mean
- Strong in Perplexity, weak in ChatGPT. Your review and community presence may be stronger than your Bing indexing or reference presence.
- Strong in Gemini, weak elsewhere. Your Google Business Profile and Google index presence may carry you.
- Weak everywhere. Check crawler access, server rendered content, and specificity of your pages first.
Keep the sample honest
SparkToro and Gumshoe found less than a 1 in 100 chance of the same brand list twice across 2,961 runs. With 50 runs per platform, differences of a few points are noise. Treat only large, repeated differences as real.
Questions people ask
How do I check my visibility in Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini?
Use one list of customer questions, run each five times per platform in fresh sessions, record whether you are named and cited, and compare your share of runs across platforms.
Do all platforms show sources?
Not the same way. Perplexity lists numbered sources with each answer, Gemini shows links in Google's AI surfaces, and Claude shows sources when web search is used. Check what your account displays.
Why am I visible in one AI but not another?
Platforms draw on different sources. Perplexity leans on community and review sites, ChatGPT on Bing and reference sources, and Gemini on Google's index.
How many runs do I need?
At least five per question and 50 per platform for a first read, with monthly repeats, because single results are unreliable.