A customer asks ChatGPT for a local service and sees a competitor's name. That answer is an observation, not proof that one specific technical fault caused the result. The query, product mode, location, timing, and available sources can all matter.
Preserve the observation
Save the exact question and response, including any cited links. Note the date, region, and whether the product used search. Repeat the same question more than once before treating it as a pattern. If the competitor is named in one answer and absent in another, report both.
Check website access and facts
OpenAI's crawler documentation says OAI-SearchBot is used for ChatGPT search and distinguishes it from GPTBot for potential training. Review your published robots.txt rule for the search crawler, but remember that allowing it does not guarantee a visit or a mention. Check that the important page returns the expected content and clearly states the business, service, location, and contact path.
Look at the cited source, if one is shown. Does it answer the actual customer question? Does your own page answer it accurately? A missing answer is a reasonable content improvement even if ChatGPT does not cite the page afterward. Do not infer that Bing index presence, one schema field, or one review explains the answer unless you have evidence for that specific case.
Track the business outcome
Use Search Console for Google's query and page data, and keep qualified inquiries in a deduplicated business record. For ChatGPT mentions, compare the same saved query sample after a change. These are different measures. A higher AI Visibility check score does not prove the competitor has been displaced.
If you need a website baseline, request the Free Report Preview. It can identify public site issues to investigate; it cannot promise that ChatGPT will name you next time.