Sample report

A full example of the free check and the paid audit for a made-up invoicing app called Ledgerly, with what each section means and what we would do about it.

By Dasha. Updated November 1 2026. https://heardofyou.io/sample

This is what you get. A free check first, and an audit if you want the plan. Both are shown here for a made-up product, so you know exactly what to expect.

This is an example. Ledgerly is a made-up invoicing app for freelancers. The numbers are invented to show how a report reads. The competitors and sources are real products and sites, used only as illustration. Your check uses your product and your buyers' questions. This sample was made in October 2026 with four AIs, before we added Muse. Checks now run on five.

Part one: the free check

Free check for Ledgerly

October 2026, five buyer questions, three runs each, four AIs. 60 answers.

12 of 60 : answers named Ledgerly : example, not a real result
What this means. Ask an AI for a freelancer invoicing tool, and Ledgerly comes up in about one answer in five. Not invisible. Not on the shortlist either. Most buyers asking these questions never hear the name.

The five questions we asked

1. "What is the best invoicing tool for a freelance designer?"
2. "I need simple invoicing and expense tracking for a one-person business under $15 a month. What should I use?"
3. "Which invoicing apps do freelancers actually like?"
4. "What are good alternatives to FreshBooks for a solo freelancer?"
5. "I just started freelancing and need to send my first invoice. What app should I use?"

Real buyers type questions like these. We write yours from your category, your price point and the competitor you lose to most. You can swap any of them before we run.

Times named, per AI

| AI | Named | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 5 | 15 |
| Gemini | 3 | 15 |
| Claude | 3 | 15 |
| Perplexity | 1 | 15 |

What this means. ChatGPT knows Ledgerly best. That usually means it picks the name up from a source it reads often. Perplexity searches the live web for every answer, and almost never finds it. Strong hint: the review sites and recent roundups Perplexity searches do not mention Ledgerly yet.

Who AI names instead

| Product | Times named in 60 answers |
|---|---|
| FreshBooks | 38 |
| Wave | 27 |
| Bonsai | 15 |

What this means. These three are the shortlist. They appear in most answers, whatever the wording. Ledgerly is not fighting them for a spot. It is trying to become the fourth name an AI reaches for.

The good news from the research: a small edge in ratings or reviews can move an AI's pick, even against a better-known brand.

Sources the AIs cited

| Source | Times cited | Ledgerly listed there? |
|---|---|---|
| G2, "Invoicing software" category | 19 | No |
| A Zapier "best invoicing apps" roundup | 14 | No |
| A Reddit thread in r/freelance, 2025 | 9 | No |
| A Reddit thread in r/smallbusiness, 2026 | 6 | Mentioned once, by a user |

What this means. A score never shows you this part. The AIs lean on four places, and Ledgerly is missing from three. The fix is not on Ledgerly's own website. It is on those pages.

One answer, quoted

Example answer, invented for this sample. ChatGPT, question 3, run 2:

"Freelancers tend to recommend FreshBooks for its time tracking and Wave because the core features are free. Bonsai comes up a lot for designers and writers who also want contracts. Ledgerly is a newer option with a simpler interface, though it has fewer reviews so far."

What this means. When Ledgerly is named, the description is fair and accurate. Worth knowing. "Fewer reviews so far" is also a clue. The AI reads review counts, and treats a low count as a reason for caution.

Why the answers move

Ask the same question three times and you get three different lists. In one large study, two runs of the same prompt gave the same brand list less than one time in a hundred.

So we run every question three times. We report how often you are named, not where you rank in one answer. Twelve of sixty is a sample, not a verdict. Your real baseline is a range around it.

Two likely reasons

1. The sources are off your site. The AIs quote G2, a Zapier roundup and Reddit. Ledgerly's own site could be perfect and still miss these answers.
2. Not enough third-party proof yet. Few reviews, no roundup placements. AIs trust what other people say about a product over what it says about itself.

What happens next

The free check is the diagnosis. The audit is the prescription: which lists, which review site, which threads, in what order. It costs $149 ($99 for founding customers). It is credited in full if you start a project within 30 days.

If a check like this showed you were already named plenty, we would say so. You would keep your money.

Part two: the audit

Here is the paid audit for the same made-up product. One page in your inbox, plus a document to read at your own pace.

Still an example. The audit figures below are invented to match the free-check sample above.

Audit for Ledgerly

25 buyer questions, three runs each, four AIs. 300 answers.

51 of 300 : answers named Ledgerly, a 17% mention rate : example, not a real result
In one sentence: asked about invoicing for freelancers, AI recommends FreshBooks, Wave and Bonsai. It mentions Ledgerly about one time in six.

Best AI: ChatGPT, 27 of 75. Weakest AI: Perplexity, 4 of 75.

Scorecard

A tick means in place, a triangle means partly, a cross means missing.

| Area | Check | Mark |
|---|---|---|
| Search layer | Ledgerly pages rank for "best invoicing app for freelancers", "Ledgerly reviews" and "Ledgerly vs FreshBooks" | Partly |
| | AI crawlers are not blocked in robots.txt | In place |
| | Ledgerly shows up when the AI runs its own web searches | Missing |
| Own pages | The clear answer is in the first third of the homepage | Partly |
| | Specific numbers, quotes and named sources are on the pages | Missing |
| | Pages show real update dates | In place |
| | Pricing and plan details are complete and easy to read | In place |
| | Honest comparison and "alternatives" pages exist | Missing |
| | The homepage says what it is and who it is for in one screen | In place |
| Third-party proof | Named in the "best invoicing" articles the AIs cite | Missing |
| | Genuine Reddit presence under the founder's own name | Missing |
| | YouTube: a demo, tutorial or creator mention | Partly |
| | Reviews on G2 with a competitive rating | Missing |
| Accuracy | The AI's description of Ledgerly is correct | In place |

What this means. Ledgerly's own site is in decent shape. The gaps are almost all in the third-party column, where AIs do their reading. Normal for a product under two years old. Also the fixable part.

Where the AIs get their answers

| Top cited domains for this category | Ledgerly present? | Action |
|---|---|---|
| g2.com | No | Set up the profile, invite real customers |
| zapier.com | No | Pitch the roundup editor |
| reddit.com | Once, by a user | Founder joins the two threads, under their own name |
| capterra.com | No | Set up the profile after G2 |
| nerdwallet.com | No | Pitch, low odds, worth one attempt |

Top three fixes, in order

| # | Fix | Target | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set up a G2 profile and ask 15 real customers for an honest review | g2.com, Invoicing software category | Medium |
| 2 | Pitch the roundups that the AIs cite most, with a short, specific note and two follow-ups | The Zapier roundup plus four others named in the full audit | Medium |
| 3 | Write a plain "Ledgerly vs FreshBooks for freelancers" page and an "alternatives to FreshBooks" page, both honest about where FreshBooks is better | ledgerly's own site | Small |

What this means. Fix one gives the AIs a review source that mentions you. Fix two puts you on the pages they quote. Fix three gives them a clear, quotable answer to the comparison question.

In the project we do all three for you. With the audit alone, you have the list and do them yourself.

What we will not do

No hidden text or prompt tricks. No fake or bought reviews. No persona accounts, no paid listicles, no bulk directory submissions. No promise of a number one rank. AI answers change between runs, so we track how often you are mentioned. The reasons are on the clean methods page (/clean-methods).

Re-check plan

Same 25 questions, same three runs, same four AIs, same location, at day 30, 60 and 90. Every answer saved, so you can read them yourself.

An example before and after

Illustration, not a forecast. This is how a day 60 re-check reads. It is not a prediction of your result.

| | Day 0 | Day 30 | Day 60 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Named, out of 60 free-check answers | 12 | 15 | 21 |
| ChatGPT | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| Gemini | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Claude | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Perplexity | 1 | 2 | 3 |

Watch Perplexity. It searches the live web on every answer, so new sources can show up there without waiting for a model update.

Does it actually change first? Our own re-checks will measure that. We do not assume it. That is why we check three times, not once.

Want this for your product?

The free check takes a minute to request. It arrives within 2 working days, and it is free whatever it finds.

Sources
- SparkToro, AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands, 2026 (https://sparktoro.com/blog/new-research-ais-are-highly-inconsistent-when-recommending-brands-or-products-marketers-should-take-care-when-tracking-ai-visibility/)
- Chu and Hou, brand recommendation by AI agents, 2026 pre-print (https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.17443)