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Best Tools to Track Brand Mentions in ChatGPT: Free Options First

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TL;DR
  • Start with a hand-run list of buyer prompts and one free checker. Pay only when the list outgrows your week.
  • Free checkers give a one-off baseline. Tracking over time needs the manual log or a paid plan.
  • Every tool runs its own prompts, so treat the numbers as a range, not a rank. Prices checked 3 Nov 2026.

To track brand mentions in ChatGPT for free, run a fixed list of buyer questions in a non-personalized Temporary Chat and log each answer in a sheet. Free checkers add a one-off baseline. Paid trackers make sense once your list outgrows your week.

This guide covers four free checkers, the manual method, and seven trackers with a trial or a low entry price. Every plan detail carries the date it was checked: 3 Nov 2026.

What does a ChatGPT mention tracker actually measure?

A tracker runs a list of prompts and records three things: whether your brand name appears, where it sits next to competitors, and which URLs the answer cites.

A mention is your name inside the answer text. A citation is a link to your page. Good tools report them separately, because a mention with no citation builds awareness but sends no visit you can count.

Which free checkers show if ChatGPT mentions your brand?

Four free tools give a one-off read. None of them tracks you over time.

ToolWhat you getLimitsEnginesChecked
Semrush AI Search Visibility CheckerVisibility score, mentions, citations, top cited pages3 checks a day, no accountChatGPT, Gemini, AI Mode, AI Overviews3 Nov 2026
LLM Pulse Brand Mention CheckerMentions, citations, sentiment, competitor brands, emailed in about 2 minutesOne report per email; each prompt run once per engineChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Mode, AI Overviews3 Nov 2026
Mangools AI Search GraderAn AI Search Score for a brandUsage limited; 3 models without an accountChatGPT, Mistral, Llama (more with a free account)3 Nov 2026
Airefs ChatGPT Mention TrackerWhether you appear for prompts built from your homepageFree; your own prompts mean contacting AirefsChatGPT3 Nov 2026

Use one of these once for a baseline. LLM Pulse says its free check is directional, because every prompt runs only once per engine.

How do you track ChatGPT mentions by hand?

The manual method costs nothing and shows you how ChatGPT words things. Plan on roughly an hour a week for 15 prompts run three times each.

  1. Write 15 prompts in three groups. Category questions ("what should a [role] use to [job]?"), rival questions ("alternatives to [competitor]") and feature questions ("does [your brand] do [feature]?").
  2. Open a Temporary Chat and pick non-personalized before your first message. According to OpenAI's help page (checked 3 Nov 2026), a non-personalized temporary chat does not use memory, custom instructions or plugins, and the choice cannot be changed once the chat starts. OpenAI may still keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety.
  3. Log every run in a sheet with these columns: 
    Date | Prompt | Run | Brand named? | Position | Competitors named | URLs cited | How you were described
  4. Run each prompt three times. Answers change between runs.
  5. Work out a mention rate as a range. Runs that named you, divided by total runs, per prompt. "2 of 3" is a range, not a rank.
  6. Repeat on the same weekday with the same prompts, so the trend means something.

The limits are real. You see one account's view, from one place, and the log is only as good as your discipline.

Which paid trackers have a free trial, and what do they cost?

None of the tools below is confirmed as a long-term free plan for ongoing multi-prompt tracking. These are trials or paid plans.

ToolFree tier or trialStarting price (checked 3 Nov 2026)Engines in the base plan
Morningscore14-day trial of the full toolSee vendor pageChatGPT tracker
Keyword.com14-day trial, no cardSee vendor pageChatGPT tracker
LLM Pulse14-day trialFrom EUR 49/monthChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Mode, AI Overviews; others are add-ons
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit7-day trial via Semrush OneFrom $99/monthChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode
Otterly AIFree trial (length not stated on the page)Lite $29/month, or $25 billed annually, for 15 promptsChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot; Gemini and AI Mode are paid add-ons
LLMrefs7-day trial$79/month for 500 prompts, listed as limited-timeChatGPT, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, Meta; no extra fees
Peec AIFree trial (length not confirmed)Starter $95/month, or $80/month billed annually, for 50 promptsYou pick 3 models; PricingSaaS reports Perplexity moved to Enterprise-only on 21 Sep 2026

Three details change the real cost:

  • Otterly's cheapest plan is capped. Lite has 15 prompts, and the pricing page lists extra prompts as not available on that plan. Gemini and AI Mode add-ons start at $9/month each on Lite.
  • LLMrefs flags its $79 price as limited-time. Check the price on the day you buy.
  • Peec charges by model. You choose three models per plan, so check which three before you pay.

How do you choose between them?

Match the tool to the size of your prompt list.

  • Under 20 prompts, one engine: stay manual and run a free checker once a quarter.
  • Already paying for Semrush: start with its free checker, then trial the toolkit. Your SEO data stays in one place.
  • Lowest paid entry: Otterly Lite at $29, but you are limited to 15 prompts.
  • Most prompts for the money: LLMrefs gives 500 prompts for $79, about $0.16 each. Otterly Lite and Peec Starter come to about $1.90 per prompt per month. These are simple divisions of the listed prices, and LLMrefs counts keywords that expand into prompts, so treat the comparison as rough.
  • Starting any trial: load your full prompt list on day one. A 7-day window is short.

Do ChatGPT mentions turn into visits?

A mention does not tell you whether anyone clicked. For that, use analytics.

By default, a click from a ChatGPT answer lands in GA4's generic Referral channel with a source like chatgpt.com. According to Terminus (checked 3 Nov 2026), Google added a native "AI Assistant" channel on 13 May 2026, but Terminus still recommends a custom channel group so you control the rule. Put the custom channel above Referral, or the rule never fires. Treat the session count as a floor, since not every click carries a referrer.

What can no tool tell you?

  • Your buyers' real prompts. Trackers run the prompts you give them. They do not show what people actually typed.
  • A stable ranking. Answers vary by account, session and location. One run is a sample, not a position.
  • Why you were left out. A tracker shows the gap. Fixing it is content and off-site work. For the fixes, see how to rank in ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Overviews.

FAQ

How do I track brand mentions in ChatGPT for free?

Run a fixed list of buyer prompts in a non-personalized Temporary Chat. Run each three times, log the results, and repeat weekly. Add one free checker for a baseline.

What is the difference between a mention and a citation?

A mention is your brand name in the answer text. A citation is a link to your page as a source. Track both.

How many prompts should I track?

Start with 10 to 20 that match real buying questions. The entry paid plans above start at 15 prompts (Otterly Lite) and go up to 500 (LLMrefs).

Can I see ChatGPT traffic in Google Analytics?

Partly. Clicks show as referrals from chatgpt.com. Build a custom channel group above Referral so they appear as their own channel.

The bottom line

Begin with the manual log and one free checker. If your list grows beyond what you can re-run weekly, trial one tracker with your full prompt list loaded, and compare the cost per prompt before you commit.

Sources (checked 3 Nov 2026)