We found a tool that opened our eyes to how AI-powered search engines are already shaping brand visibility. It’s called Gumshoe AI, and it helps businesses understand how large language models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity are talking about them today. For small businesses, this shift matters because the way customers discover products and services is changing fast.
Visibility in LLM-powered results are becoming a new battleground (we even wrote a blog about it), and tools like Gumshoe AI help smaller businesses understand how they’re being represented, what gaps exist compared to competitors, and how to adjust content strategies to stay findable.
What is Gumshoe AI?
Rather than optimising for search rankings, Gumshoe runs thousands of prompts through leading AI models to see how they talk about different brands. It works by running thousands of simulated prompts across these AI tools, then analysing the responses to see:
- How often your brand is mentioned (your “share of LLM”)
- Whether competitors are showing up more frequently
- The topics or personas where you’re visible (e.g. budget-conscious shoppers vs professional buyers)
- Which sources the AI is citing most
For small businesses, this creates an evidence-based snapshot of how discoverable you are in the new search landscape.
What we learned using it
When we trialled Gumshoe, we even uncovered a spelling error on our own site that was stopping us from being properly picked up. More importantly, it gave us perspective on how AI assistants perceive our brand and where we sit compared to others.
It highlighted persona questions where we were invisible, showed us which types of content were being recognised, and pointed out where competitors were more visible. These are the kinds of insights SMEs can use to decide whether to update their websites, publish more targeted FAQs, or refine messaging.
We found Gumshoe incredibly accessible – the first report is free, and each additional report costs just $0.10, keeping experimentation low-risk and affordable.
From monitoring to action
Right now, Gumshoe is strongest as an analytics tool: it audits where you appear, where you don’t, and what context you’re framed in. But the roadmap is moving toward actionable recommendations. Think of prompts like “write content answering X because no model currently attributes that topic to you” or “optimise your About page since it’s being cited but missing details.”
For SMEs with limited marketing resources, these insights are gold. Instead of spending time and money on generic campaigns, they can focus on the handful of levers that move the needle in AI search.
The bigger picture
Generative AI isn’t replacing traditional search overnight, but it is steadily reshaping how people find businesses online. For SMEs, that means the discovery game is evolving. Tools such as Gumshoe AI can highlight where you stand today, but the bigger lesson is simple: don’t ignore the shift.
Awareness is the first step. Staying visible in the age of AI will come down to paying attention, adapting content, and making sure your business has a voice in the answers people are already receiving.
👉 Curious to see how your brand shows up? Try it yourself at gumshoe.ai.
