Cheapest way to track if ChatGPT mentions my startup

Cheapest: $0. If you mean “does ChatGPT recommend my startup when potential customers ask relevant questions?”, start with Trackbase’s free plan: it currently offers one brand and five ChatGPT prompts tracked daily. (trackbase.ai)

Or do it manually: write 5–10 questions buyers might ask, run the same prompts in ChatGPT once a week, and log whether your startup appears and which competitors do. Keep the prompts consistent so you can compare over time.

Important limitation: this checks ChatGPT’s answers to your test prompts; it won’t alert you whenever some other person asks ChatGPT about your startup. For a paid tracker, Otterly.AI is listed at about $29/month for daily monitoring, but I’d try the free approach first. (pikaseo.com)

The cheapest option is free: a manual check you repeat monthly. Paid tools only make sense if you want automated daily tracking.

Free (about $0)

• Manual spreadsheet check. Write 20 to 30 questions a buyer would ask, not questions that name your brand. Run each one in a temporary chat, several times, and log whether you're named, whether your site is cited, and how you're described. Repeat monthly for free, or use a prompt tracking tool to automate daily checks. Running each prompt several times matters because ChatGPT's answers vary from run to run, so one check proves very little.
• Free checkers for a snapshot. Wellows' ChatGPT Visibility Tracker is listed as free with no signup, but it covers only ChatGPT. Wellows ChatGPT Visibility Tracker | ChatGPT only | Mention and rank check per prompt | Free | Yes, no signup. Semrush's free AI Visibility Tool and Ahrefs' free AI Visibility Checker also exist, and they cover more platforms. Treat any single free check as a one-time reading, not a trend.

Cheapest paid (about $17 to $29/month)

• Otterly.AI Lite, $29/month. It tracks 15 prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. One source notes it runs 15 prompts on 4 engines daily.
• Rankscale, from $17/month on yearly billing. One comparison lists Essentials $17/mo, yearly only, with 9 engines on every plan. Check the current terms, since it's a less established option.

My recommendation: Start with the free manual test this week. If you want automatic alerts and a monthly trend line, Otterly Lite at $29 is the lowest-cost paid option I found. Prices change often, so confirm on each vendor's pricing page before you buy.

Tracking mentions in ChatGPT and other AI models is a relatively new but critical part of brand monitoring, often called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) or AI Visibility tracking. Since there is no official "Google Search Console" for AI, you have two primary ways to track this:

1. The Cheapest Way: Manual "Audit" Workflow

If you are on a tight budget, you can perform effective tracking manually. The goal is not to monitor everything, but to establish a "visibility baseline" by tracking how often you appear for the specific questions your customers actually ask.

• Define Your "Buyer Prompts": Don't just search for your company name. Create a list of 15–20 queries your customers use, such as:
  • "What is the best [product category] for [your niche]?"
  • "Compare [Competitor A] and [Competitor B]."
  • "How much does [service] cost?"
• Use a Standardized Process:
  • Use a fresh, logged-out, or private/incognito browser window each time so previous history doesn't bias the result.
  • Run the same list of questions across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity (as your audience likely uses all of these).
  • Repeat 3–5 times per prompt. AI responses are probabilistic (they change), so a single result is not reliable.
• Log in a Spreadsheet: Create columns for: Date, Platform, Prompt, Brand Mentioned (Yes/No), Position (e.g., 1st, 2nd, etc.), and Cited Source (Yes/No).
• Frequency: Do this once a month. This is enough to identify trends without it becoming a full-time job.

2. The Automated Way: AI Visibility Tools

If manual tracking becomes too time-consuming, various dedicated tools have emerged. These tools automate the "prompt-and-log" process mentioned above.

• Entry-Level/Budget Options: Look for tools that offer free tiers or low-cost starter plans. Some tools like Searcherries and Otterly.ai are often cited for being more cost-effective compared to enterprise-grade platforms.
• What to Look For:
  • Multi-Engine Support: Ensure they track more than just ChatGPT (Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews are critical).
  • Citation Tracking: It is just as important to see if the AI cites your website as it is to see if it mentions your name.
  • Competitor Benchmarking: Choose a tool that tracks your competitors simultaneously so you can see why you might be losing "share of voice."

Key Metrics to Track

When tracking, focus on these three indicators rather than trying to chase "referral traffic" (which is often missing from AI answers):

1. Mention Rate: How often are you named in responses to category-level questions?
2. Citation Rate: How often is your website linked as a source?
3. Share of Voice: When your competitors are mentioned, are you included in that same shortlist?

Important Reality Check

• It’s Directional, Not Precise: Anyone claiming they have 100% accurate, real-time data on every AI mention is oversimplifying. AI models vary by session, geography, and time. Treat your data as a trend indicator to see if your brand’s visibility is improving over time.
• Fix the Source First: If you aren't appearing, it is usually because the AI doesn't have a clear, authoritative "story" about your business in its training data. Ensure your website clearly answers the questions you are tracking, uses FAQ schemas, and maintains accurate listings on review and directory sites.

Cheapest: do it manually for $0. Pick 10–20 questions potential customers might ask (for example, “What are the best tools for [problem]?”), ask them in ChatGPT once a month, and record whether your startup appears in a spreadsheet. It’s a useful baseline, but results can vary between runs and won’t give you automatic history. ⁶

If you want automatic tracking, Otterly.ai starts at $29/month and lets you monitor a set of prompts across ChatGPT and other AI search platforms. ¹⁰ Some tools advertise free tiers, but their prompt limits and monitoring frequency vary—check the current limits before signing up. ⁷

My suggestion: start with the spreadsheet; pay for a tracker only if you need recurring checks, trend history, or competitor comparisons.