I'm a solo founder and ChatGPT never mentions my product

For SaaS and indie app founders: what AI does in your buyers' world, what we check, what we do, what we will not do, and what it costs.

By Dasha. Updated November 1 2026. https://heardofyou.io/for/saas-founders

You built something real and launched it. Then you asked ChatGPT what to use in your category. It named three incumbents and had no idea you existed.

That is not a verdict on your product. It is a reading-list problem, and reading lists can be changed.

We find the lists, reviews and threads AI reads for your category. We get your real story into them. Then we measure whether the answers change.

What AI does in your buyers' world

51 percent of B2B software buyers now start research in an AI chatbot more often than in Google.

In G2's 2026 report, 69 percent said a chatbot led them to a different vendor than planned. One in three bought from a vendor they had never heard of. That is the door new products come in through, if they are in the answer.

The traffic looks small in analytics. It is not small in money. Across 100 websites, ChatGPT sent 0.62 percent as many visits as Google. Those visitors converted at 13.8 percent, against 3.02 percent for Google.

1 in 3 : B2B software buyers bought from a vendor they had never heard of, after an AI chatbot named it : G2 2026 AI Search Insight Report
The questions we would ask for you

The brand-name test lies. Type "Ledgerly" and the AI describes it fine.

The questions that matter are the ones your buyer types before they know your name. For a SaaS product, three of the five free-check questions usually look like these:

1. best [category] for [main use case], for example "best invoicing app for freelancers"
2. best [category] under $[budget] a month, because 28 percent of real prompts name a price limit
3. alternatives to [the incumbent], where the AI either adds you or does not

Each one runs three times on ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Muse. You get 75 answers. For every one: were you named, who was named instead, which pages were cited. That last column is the reading list.

What a SaaS project includes

For software, AI cites a short list of source types: "best X" list articles, G2 or Capterra, Reddit and YouTube.

For B2B products, G2 matters more than it looks. It is the only review site in Perplexity's top five cited domains. And G2 found that AI descriptions of a product closely track its G2 profile text.

So a SaaS project is built around those sources:
- 25 named lists and sites pitched, two follow-ups each. These are the lists that actually appeared in your citations, not a generic directory of directories. One analysis looked at about 200,000 AI responses. Ranking first in a frequently cited list raised a B2B software brand's mention rate by 16.5 percentage points.
- Three pages written for you. Your story page: what it is, for whom, why you built it, what it costs. One honest comparison against the incumbent the AI keeps naming. One alternatives page. The last two match the exact words ChatGPT uses in its own searches.
- Review profiles on the two sites AI cites most for your category. Usually G2 and one other. Claimed, accurate, with a plain plan for asking real users for honest reviews. We never write or buy reviews.
- A founder-led Reddit plan: the threads that were cited, what a useful disclosed answer looks like, and what gets you banned.
- Re-checks at day 30, 60 and 90 on the same questions, so the before and after is fair.

Proof, and what we cannot show yet

We are new. Here is what we can honestly show you today, and what we cannot.

What we can show: the full method, on this site. A real sample report, built the way yours would be. You can see the prompt-level detail (who got named instead, which three to five sources were cited) before you give us an email address. And the research behind every claim, linked at the bottom of every page.

What we cannot show yet: client before-and-afters. The founding cohort of 20 gets the audit free with the project. In exchange, we may publish an anonymised before and after, misses included. They will appear here at day 30, 60 and 90, whether or not they flatter us.

What we will never show: a single screenshot as proof. Answers change from run to run. Anything less than repeated runs on a fixed set of questions is noise.

What we will not do
- Guarantee any AI mention or ranking. Nobody honest can.
- Use fake accounts, bought reviews, persona Reddit posts or hidden text.
- Blast directories. ChatGPT and Gemini rarely cite them, and we will not charge you for them.
- Hide paid placements. If a list sells a spot, the page marks it sponsored, or we skip it.
- Sign you up to a monthly retainer by default. The project is one price, once.

Price

| | What you get | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Free check | 5 buyer questions x 3 runs x 5 AIs = 75 answers, with who was named instead and which sources were cited. By email in 2 working days. A person checks every report. | $0 |
| Audit | 25 questions x 3 runs x 5 AIs, plus a prescription of the exact lists, review sites and threads to get into. Credited toward the project within 30 days. | $149 ($99 for the founding 20) |
| Project | 25 named lists and sites pitched with two follow-ups each; 3 pages written; review profiles on the 2 sites AI cites most; a founder-led Reddit plan; re-checks at day 30, 60 and 90. | $799 |
| Keep growing | One new placement a month plus a monthly re-check. Offered after the day-30 re-check. 3-month minimum. | $349 a month |

Every deliverable ships within 90 days or your money back.

The day-60 target: named in at least your baseline plus 3 of the 20 agreed answers. Never fewer than 3, never more than 7. Miss it and we keep working at no charge until day 120. We never promise what an AI will say.

At launch there is no checkout button. You fill in a short request form. I confirm fit within 2 working days and send an invoice.

Questions

Is this just AI SEO snake oil with a nicer font?

Fair question. The category has earned it. Here is how to tell. We name every site we will pitch before you pay. We publish our prices. We never guarantee a mention. We re-ask the same questions at day 30, 60 and 90 and send you the raw results, good or bad. If any seller refuses to name the sites, walk away, from us too.

I cannot afford $1,000 a month. Is there a one-time option?

Yes, and it is the main thing we sell. The audit is $149 once and the project is $799 once. The monthly plan is only for founders who want more placements after the day-30 re-check. It has a 3-month minimum, so nobody drifts into it.

Should I just buy ChatGPT ads?

At $3 to $5 a click, $799 buys roughly 160 to 265 clicks, then stops. OpenAI says ads do not change the organic answer. A place on a list the AI cites keeps working after you stop paying. Can afford both? Do both. Can afford one? The earned one lasts.

Do you work with pre-revenue products?

Yes, if the product is live and real people can use it. If it is a waitlist, do the free check now and come back when there is something for a list to link to.

Which AI do my buyers use?

Selling to other builders? Weight Claude: 59 percent of startup builders pay for it. Selling to small businesses? Weight ChatGPT and Gemini, plus Perplexity if your buyers read G2. The audit weights the engines to your buyer. The free check covers all four.


Sources
- G2 research, The Answer Economy (1,076 B2B buyers, March 2026) (https://company.g2.com/news/g2-research-the-answer-economy)
- G2 2026 AI Search Insight Report: 69% chose a different vendor; 33% bought from one they had never heard of (https://learn.g2.com/g2-2026-ai-search-insight-report)
- Peec AI analysis via Kovmere: ranking first in a cited listicle raised mention rate 16.5 points (https://kovmere.com/resources/which-review-sites-and-directories-do-ai-assistants-cite-when-recommending-software)
- Marie Haynes via MarTech: ChatGPT visitors converted at 13.8% vs 3.02% for Google (https://martech.org/chatgpt-sends-less-than-1-of-googles-traffic/)
- r/SaaS: I checked which SaaS tools ChatGPT actually recommends (written by a scanner-tool founder) (https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/comments/1utkuri/i_checked_which_saas_tools_chatgpt_actually/)
- r/SaaS: has anyone checked if ChatGPT names their SaaS for category questions? (https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/comments/1x8653n/has_anyone_checked_if_chatgpt_actually_names/)
- Indie Hackers: I asked ChatGPT to recommend my product. It had no idea it existed. (https://www.indiehackers.com/post/i-asked-chatgpt-to-recommend-my-product-it-had-no-idea-it-existed-f30e86f4f5)
- Peec AI: most-cited domains by engine (G2 appears in Perplexity's top five) (https://docs.peec.ai/research/most-cited-domains-by-engine)
- Supabase State of Startups 2026: Claude is builders' top paid AI subscription (59%) (https://supabase.com/state-of-startups)