1. Write buyer questions, not brand questions
"What's the best tool for X?", "How do I do X without Y?", "Alternatives to <competitor>". Avoid your own name: you want to know whether you come up unprompted.
2. Ask more than once
Answers change between runs and between engines. Ask each question at least twice per engine and count how often you're named, not just whether.
3. Record the citations
Perplexity and ChatGPT with search list their sources. Those pages decide the answer. Note which ones mention competitors but not you.
4. Turn citations into tasks
A cited forum thread: add a useful reply. A cited directory: get listed. A cited "best tools" article: email the author with something they can use. No page comparing you: write one.
5. Check again later
Re-run the same questions after about four weeks. GTMorganic runs these checks twice a month on ChatGPT and Perplexity (plus Gemini on Pro) and turns missing citations into steps. The free tool on this site runs one check without signing up.