Write 10 questions your buyers really ask, 5 in English and 5 in Arabic, each with your area in it. Ask each one, word for word, in a private window on ChatGPT and Gemini, then on Google for the AI answer. Note whether you are named, in what position, who is named instead and which sources are shown. Your score is "named in X of 10" for each tool.
What normal looks like, from our study of 500 UAE questions: AI named at least one business 92% of the time, usually four or five. But two assistants named even one business in common on only 16% of questions, so one check on one tool tells you very little.
92%of live-search answers named at least one business. Adjoltz study, 500 UAE questions, 21 Oct 2026.
4.3businesses named per answer on average with live search. 5.4 from Gemini's memory.
16.4%of questions where the two assistants named even one business in common.
11.6% vs 5.2%Arabic answers that named no one, against English answers.
What you need
- 10 questions from the templates below, filled in with your area and service.
- The names of your 3 closest competitors, so you can spot them.
- A phone or laptop for screenshots, and the tracking sheet further down.
- About 10 minutes for ChatGPT and Gemini. Add a few minutes for Google.
The 10-minute test, step by step
- Fill in your questions (minute 0 to 2). Use 5 English and 5 Arabic templates. Write the area and the city: "Al Nahda, Dubai", not just "Al Nahda". Spell areas out: "Jumeirah Village Circle", not "JVC". Never put your own business name in the question.
- Open a clean window (minute 2). Use a private or incognito window. If a tool makes you sign in, start a temporary chat and turn memory off, so your past chats don't steer the answer.
- Ask ChatGPT (minutes 2 to 6). Paste each question exactly as written, one per new chat. Screenshot each answer.
- Ask Gemini (minutes 6 to 9). The same 10 questions, in the same order.
- Ask twice (minute 9 to 10). Take your most important question and ask it again in a fresh chat on each tool. If the names change, that is normal, and it tells you how settled the answer is.
- Ask for sources. On one answer per tool, follow up with "Which sources did you use?" Open them. These are the pages to get onto.
- Check Google. Search each question on Google. Note if an AI Overview appears at the top, or open AI Mode, and whether you are named there.
10 ready questions for each industry
These come from the 500 questions in our study, rewritten as templates. Replace [area] with your area and city and [service] with what you sell. Each set mixes question types, such as comparing, price, trust, urgent and very specific, because buyers ask all of them.
Dental clinics
- What is the best dental clinic in [area]?
- Which dentist in [area] has the best reviews?
- How much does [service] cost in [area], and which clinic is good value?
- Emergency dentist open now near [area]?
- Best dentist in [area] for a child who is scared of the dentist?
- Which clinic in [area] is best for [service] for adults?
- Is there a dental clinic in [area] that takes my insurance and is well reviewed?
- Which dental clinic in [area] has female dentists?
- ما أفضل عيادة أسنان في [المنطقة]؟
- طبيب أسنان طوارئ مفتوح الآن قرب [المنطقة]؟
Aesthetics and dermatology
- Best aesthetic clinic in [area] for [service]?
- Which dermatology clinic in [area] is the best?
- Where can I get [service] for dark skin in [area]?
- How much does [service] cost in [area] and where is safe?
- Which skin clinic in [area] is licensed and has good reviews?
- I am 24 with hormonal acne, which dermatologist in [area] should I see?
- Top [service] clinic in [area]
- Affordable [service] in [area]?
- أفضل عيادة تجميل في [المنطقة] لـ[الخدمة]؟
- كم سعر [الخدمة] في [المنطقة] وأين المكان الآمن؟
Real estate
- Best real estate agency in [area] for buying an apartment?
- Which property broker in [area] is the most trusted?
- Who is the best agent to sell my villa in [area]?
- Best real estate agent in [area] for off-plan property for foreign investors?
- Which agency in [area] charges the lowest commission?
- How do I find a RERA registered agent in [area] I can trust?
- Best broker for renting a 2 bedroom apartment in [area]?
- Top [service] company in [area]
- أفضل شركة عقارات في [المنطقة] لشراء شقة؟
- أفضل وسيط عقاري موثوق في [المنطقة]؟
Business setup
- What is the best business setup company in [area] for a small startup?
- What is the cheapest free zone to set up a company in the UAE?
- Which business setup consultant in [area] is the most reliable?
- Best free zone in the UAE for a [service] business?
- How do I set up a mainland company in [area], and which agency should I use?
- How much does [service] cost, and who can arrange it?
- Which business setup companies in [area] are honest about hidden fees?
- Top PRO services company in [area]
- ما أرخص منطقة حرة لتأسيس شركة في الإمارات؟
- أفضل مستشار تأسيس شركات في [المنطقة]؟
Law firms
- Best law firm in [area] for a [service]?
- Who is the best [service] lawyer in [area]?
- I need a lawyer for a labour case against my employer in [area], who is good?
- How much does a lawyer cost in [area] for a [service]?
- Which law firm in [area] has the best reviews for [service]?
- Best lawyer for a will and inheritance for non-Muslims in [area]?
- Top corporate law firm in [area] for startups
- Which lawyer in [area] handles [service] cases?
- أفضل مكتب محاماة في [المنطقة] لقضية [الخدمة]؟
- كم تكلفة المحامي في [المنطقة] لقضية [الخدمة]؟
Restaurants and cafes
- Best restaurant in [area] for a birthday dinner?
- What are the best [service] restaurants in [area]?
- Best brunch in [area] for families with kids?
- Cheap but good restaurants in [area]?
- Best [service] in [area]?
- Top rated cafe to work from in [area]
- Romantic restaurant with a view in [area] for an anniversary?
- Restaurants open late near [area]?
- أفضل مطعم في [المنطقة] لعشاء عيد ميلاد؟
- مطاعم رخيصة وممتازة في [المنطقة]؟
Home services
- Best [service] company in [area]?
- [service] near [area] today?
- Most reliable maintenance company in [area] for villas?
- How much does [service] cost in [area] and who is good?
- Best pest control company in [area] for cockroaches?
- Which movers in [area] are best for moving a 2 bedroom apartment?
- Which handyman service in [area] has the best reviews?
- Emergency plumber in [area]?
- أفضل شركة [الخدمة] في [المنطقة]؟
- تصليح مكيفات قرب [المنطقة] اليوم؟
Car services
- Best car service garage in [area]?
- Which car wash in [area] is the best?
- Best place in [area] to service a BMW outside the dealer?
- Cheapest [service] in the UAE and which company is good?
- Best car rental in [area] without a deposit?
- Honest car mechanic near [area]?
- Car recovery service near [area] now?
- Where can I get [service] done in [area]?
- أفضل كراج لصيانة السيارات في [المنطقة]؟
- ميكانيكي أمين قرب [المنطقة]؟
Gyms, fitness and wellness
- Best gym in [area]?
- Which personal trainer in [area] is the best for weight loss?
- Best ladies only gym in [area]?
- Cheapest gym membership in [area] with a pool?
- Best [service] studio in [area] for beginners?
- Best physiotherapy clinic in [area] for a sports injury?
- Best spa in [area] for a massage?
- Best boxing or martial arts gym in [area] for kids?
- أفضل نادي رياضي في [المنطقة]؟
- أفضل نادي رياضي للسيدات فقط في [المنطقة]؟
Schools, nurseries and training
- Best nursery in [area]?
- Which [service] school in [area] is the best?
- Best IB school in [area] with good fees?
- Affordable nursery in [area] with good reviews?
- Best maths tutor in [area] for IGCSE?
- Best coding classes for kids in [area]?
- Which school in [area] is best for children with special needs?
- Best [service] centre in [area]?
- أفضل حضانة في [المنطقة]؟
- حضانة بأسعار معقولة وتقييم جيد في [المنطقة]؟
Why questions and not keywords: Keyword Planner shows 2,900 Google searches a month for "dentist dubai", but nobody types that into ChatGPT. They type "emergency dentist open now near JLT?" The AI answers the question, so test the question.
How to score the answers
| What the answer did | Points |
|---|---|
| Named you first | 3 |
| Named you second or third | 2 |
| Named you fourth or later | 1 |
| Did not name you | 0 |
| Named you with a wrong fact (price, area, hours, phone) | Score it, then mark it red. Fix this first. |
Score each tool and each language on its own. Ten questions give up to 30 points per tool. Write two numbers at the top of the sheet: "named in X of 10" and the points. Then note the competitor named most often instead of you.
Our rule of thumb for reading it, not an industry standard:
- 0 of 10. The usual starting point for a business that has never worked on this. Your first job is a clear page for each question.
- 1 to 2 of 10. AI knows you for something. Find which questions, and what those answers said about you, because that is what works.
- 3 or more of 10. A good result for questions about your own area and service. Now check the other tool and Arabic, where the lists are different.
What normal looks like
From our study on 21 October 2026: 500 questions across 10 UAE industries, half in English and half in Arabic. One lens was Claude with live web search; the other was Gemini answering from memory, with no search. Neither is identical to what a person sees in the ChatGPT or Gemini apps, but they show the shape of the answers.
| Industry | Live search named anyone, English | Live search named anyone, Arabic | Names per answer, live search | Gemini from memory named anyone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and cafes | 100% | 100% | 5.7 | 100% |
| Fitness and wellness | 100% | 100% | 4.1 | 100% |
| Dental clinics | 100% | 96% | 3.9 | 92% |
| Aesthetics and dermatology | 96% | 100% | 3.6 | 94% |
| Business setup | 96% | 96% | 3.9 | 97% |
| Education and childcare | 100% | 84% | 4.7 | 100% |
| Home services | 100% | 80% | 4.6 | 100% |
| Automotive | 96% | 76% | 4.4 | 94% |
| Real estate | 80% | 84% | 4.6 | 82% |
| Law firms | 84% | 72% | 3.4 | 82% |
Five more things to expect:
- Lists change between tools. The two lenses shared even one business on 16.4% of questions: 25.6% in English, 6.8% in Arabic.
- Lists change within a tool. Gemini, asked the same 19 questions twice about 20 minutes apart, put the same business first only 4 times. A 2026 study by Schulte and colleagues found the same: AI visibility varies across runs and time, so measure it more than once.
- Most names appear once. In live search, 81% to 98% of the businesses named in each industry were named only once across 50 questions. The most-named dental clinic, Dr. Joy Dental Clinic, appeared in 11 of 50 live answers, 8 of them in Arabic.
- Arabic is thinner. 11.6% of Arabic live answers named no one, against 5.2% in English, and at least 11 of 250 Arabic answers drifted to businesses in Saudi Arabia.
- Lists feed the answers. 38% of the 4,634 pages cited had a "best", "top" or أفضل style title. If a ranked list in your category leaves you out, the answer probably will too.
Mistakes that make the test useless
- Testing one tool. With 16.4% overlap, being named on ChatGPT says little about Gemini, and the reverse.
- Testing signed in, with history. Your past chats, saved memory and settings can shape what you see. Your buyers don't share your history.
- English only. Arabic answers named a different set of businesses. Two dental clinics in our data, GYA Dental Center and Oris Dental Center, were named 7 times each, all in Arabic, never in English.
- Putting your name in the question. "Is [your business] good?" will almost always mention you. It tells you what AI thinks of you, not whether it recommends you.
- Short forms and shared place names. Asked for a top orthodontist in "JVC", live search listed orthodontists in the United States. Arabic questions about Al Nahda (النهدة) pulled pages from Riyadh. Write the full area name and the city.
- Asking once. One answer is a snapshot. Ask your key questions twice and keep both.
- Testing from abroad or on a VPN. Location shapes live search. Our own live-search lens ran on a US-based index, and a few English answers drifted to US businesses. Test from the UAE.
- Not saving sources and screenshots. Answers change. Without dated screenshots, next month's score has nothing to compare against.
A tracking sheet you can copy
Make one row per question, per tool, per month. The example row is made up, to show the format.
| Date | Tool | Language | Question, exact words | Named? | Position | Named instead | Facts right? | Sources shown | Screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-21 | ChatGPT | EN | Best dental clinic in Dubai Marina? | No | none | Clinic A, Clinic B, Clinic C | n/a | 2 directories, 3 clinic sites | chatgpt-q01.png |
To build it in Google Sheets or Excel, paste this as the first row and split by comma:
Date,Tool,Language,Question,Named (Y/N),Position,Named instead,Facts right (Y/N),Sources shown,Screenshot file,Points
Add a second tab with one line per month: named in X of 10 and points for each tool and language. That line is your baseline. It is also what any agency should show you before you pay a monthly fee.
What to do with your score
- Write one page per question you lost. Answer it plainly, with the facts only you have: prices, hours, areas, doctors, licences. For ANCFZ, a free zone, the AI answer we recorded repeated four facts that are on its pages: from AED 4,888, about 2 hours, fully remote, up to 10 activities.
- Get onto the sources AI showed you. Directories, review sites and "best of" lists in your category.
- Write real Arabic pages. With the area and city in both scripts.
- Keep your facts the same everywhere. At The Setup Collective, the season dates changed three times between August and October, and the first change touched about 30 places on the site. Every old date is a fact an AI tool can still read.
- Test again next month, with the same questions.
If you would rather not do it by hand, our free AI check runs the same test on WhatsApp. The AI Visibility Audit goes deeper: 30 questions, 3 competitors, screenshots and a 90-day plan, for AED 1,950.