AI search for local businesses: what gets cited

When someone asks ChatGPT or Google's AI Mode for “the best emergency plumber near me” or “a family dentist in Denver,” the answer is built mostly from three kinds of sources: business websites, Google Business Profile, and review sites and directories such as Yelp and industry-specific listings. Large studies show the mix differs by engine, so a local business needs all three in order: a complete, consistent listing everywhere, steady reviews, and a website that states clearly what you do and where.

How do AI assistants answer local searches?

AI assistants answer local questions by searching the web, then summarizing what they find. They do not keep their own directory of dentists. That means the question “how do I get recommended?” becomes “which pages do they read, and what do those pages say about me?”

The largest public answer so far comes from BrightLocal. Its September 2026 study, What 200k local AI searches tell us, ran about 200,000 non-branded local searches across roughly 1,300 business locations on ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews, and analyzed close to two million citations. The headline numbers:

The low overlap is the most useful finding. ChatGPT and Google's AI features mostly recommended different businesses for the same searches, because they read different sources. BrightLocal put it bluntly: “While Google Business Profile is important for AI Mode and AIO, it's hardly used by ChatGPT.” Optimizing for one engine is not enough.

What do ChatGPT, AI Mode and AI Overviews rely on?

OpenAI has not published where ChatGPT's local business data comes from, so the ChatGPT row is based on observed citations, not documentation. The Copilot and Apple rows reflect where each company's map and search data live; neither company publishes a ranking formula for AI answers either.

Google is the one company that explains its local ranking at all. Its Business Profile help page on how Google determines local ranking says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that prominence draws on reviews, links and how well known a business is across the web. Those same signals are what AI answers can see.

Which directories matter for dentists, law firms and plumbers?

AI answers cite trade directories heavily, and they differ by industry. In a smaller July 2025 BrightLocal test of 20 searches across 10 industries, ChatGPT's dentistry answers drew only on dental directories (ten of them), while ChatGPT and Perplexity relied on Superlawyers.com and FindLaw.com for legal searches. Yelp was a source in a third of all searches.

A quick way to find yours: search “best [your trade] in [your city]” on Google and in ChatGPT, and note which directories appear in the results and the citations. Those are the ones worth claiming first. Only list where it is genuine and relevant; buying hundreds of low-quality directory listings does not help and can look manipulative.

Why does NAP consistency matter so much?

NAP is your business name, address and phone number. An assistant that finds “Smith Dental, 120 Main St” on your site, “Smith Family Dentistry, 120 Main Street, Suite 4” on Yelp and an old phone number on a directory has to decide whether these are the same business. When the details match everywhere, every review and mention reinforces one entity instead of being split across several.

1. Write down your canonical name, address (including suite) and phone, exactly as they appear on your storefront and in your Google Business Profile.
2. Use that exact text on your website footer and contact page.
3. Claim or update Google Business Profile, Bing Places for Business, Apple Business Connect and Yelp with the same details, hours and primary category.
4. Work through your industry directories, then the general ones, fixing old addresses and phone numbers as you go.
5. Recheck after any move, rebrand or phone change. Old listings are the most common source of conflicting data.

SEO Rank Fixer's Get listed checklist does this work in order: pick “Local business” as your site type and it lists Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect, Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, Angi, Nextdoor and your industry's own directories, with steps for each. The Free plan tracks the top five essentials; paid plans add the full list and a check that each listing is live and links back to you.

What should a local business website say?

Business websites were the single largest source in BrightLocal's study, so your own pages carry weight. AI answers quote specific, checkable statements. Vague claims like “quality service you can trust” give them nothing to use. Make sure your site states:

• What you do, in the words customers use: “emergency plumber,” “tankless water heater installation,” “dental implants,” “DUI defense.”
• Where you do it: the city, neighborhoods and towns you serve, and whether you visit customers or they visit you.
• Proof: licenses, years in business, board certifications or bar admissions, insurance accepted, warranties.
• Practical answers: hours, emergency availability, price ranges or how quotes work, how fast you respond.
• Who is behind it: named dentists, attorneys or technicians with their credentials.

For service-area businesses, give each main service its own page, and add an area page only where you have something real to say about working there (jobs completed, local regulations, response times). Google treats near-identical city pages with only the town name swapped as doorway pages, and they do nothing for AI answers either.

How do I add LocalBusiness schema?

Structured data states your business details in a form machines read directly. Google's guide to generative AI features is clear that structured data isn't required for AI search, but its local business structured data guidance still applies, and it removes ambiguity. Use the most specific schema.org type that fits, such as Dentist, Attorney or Plumber, and make every value match your Business Profile:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Plumber",
  "name": "Acme Plumbing",
  "url": "https://www.acmeplumbing.example/",
  "telephone": "+1-512-555-0142",
  "image": "https://www.acmeplumbing.example/images/van.jpg",
  "priceRange": "$$",
  "address": {
    "@type": "PostalAddress",
    "streetAddress": "4100 Burnet Rd, Suite 2",
    "addressLocality": "Austin",
    "addressRegion": "TX",
    "postalCode": "78756",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": 30.3187, "longitude": -97.7396 },
  "areaServed": ["Austin", "Round Rock", "Cedar Park", "Pflugerville"],
  "openingHoursSpecification": [{
    "@type": "OpeningHoursSpecification",
    "dayOfWeek": ["Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday", "Sunday"],
    "opens": "00:00",
    "closes": "23:59"
  }],
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.yelp.com/biz/acme-plumbing-austin",
    "https://www.facebook.com/acmeplumbingatx"
  ]
}

Do not mark up reviews of your own business that you collected yourself; Google does not show self-serving review stars for LocalBusiness. Validate the markup with our schema checker after publishing.

How much do reviews matter in AI answers?

A lot, and in two ways. Review sites are themselves cited sources, so a Yelp page with recent reviews is one more page that can mention you. And the text of reviews tells an assistant what you are known for: “fixed our burst pipe at 2 a.m.” is evidence for “emergency plumber.” Ask every happy customer for a review on Google, plus one other site that matters in your trade, and reply to reviews, including negative ones, with specifics. Never buy or incentivize reviews; it breaks the platforms' rules and the FTC's.

Can AI crawlers read your website?

None of this helps if the assistant cannot open your site. Website builders and CDNs sometimes block AI crawlers by default; Cloudflare, for one, asks new domains whether to allow them. Make sure the search crawlers, OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT and Claude-SearchBot for Claude, are allowed. Run your homepage through the free AI crawler checker, and if you use Cloudflare, read how to check whether it is blocking ChatGPT and Claude.

How do I know if it is working?

1. Write down five to ten questions a customer would actually ask, such as “who does same-day water heater replacement in Austin?”
2. Ask them in ChatGPT and Google AI Mode once a month, from your area, and note which businesses are named and which sources are cited.
3. Fix the gaps you see: a directory you are missing, a competitor's review volume, a service your site never mentions.
4. Watch Google Business Profile calls and direction requests, and Search Console clicks for your service pages.

Answers vary from run to run, so look at trends, not single answers. SEO Rank Fixer's AI visibility check on Pro runs your saved questions through ChatGPT and Claude with live web search and records whether they name or cite you and who they point to instead. For the full playbook, read the guide to getting recommended by ChatGPT; for the bigger picture, see AEO vs GEO vs SEO and the glossary.