How AI assistants pick local businesses
On 5 October 2026 we asked ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude what people ask when they look for a dentist, physio or hair salon, with the location set to each suburb, in 11 areas across 5 states. This is what 733 answers and 4,657 citations show. No business is named.
- answers
- 733
- AI assistants
- 4
- areas
- 11
- businesses
- 12
48%
One business takes about half the answers
In each area, the business AI named most came up in a median of 48% of answers (from 33% to 79%). AI named a median of 49 different businesses per area, but most of them only once or twice.
3/5
The assistants often disagree
Compare any two assistants' five most-named businesses in an area and they share a median of 3 of the five. A business ChatGPT recommends is not always one Gemini or Claude recommends.
3.2
ChatGPT names the fewest businesses
Per answer, ChatGPT named 3.2, Perplexity named 3.6, Gemini named 5.2 and Claude named 6.8 businesses on average. The shorter the list, the harder each place on it is to win.
60%
Business websites are what AI cites most
Of 4,657 citations in the answers, 60% pointed to business websites, 18% to Google Maps and business profiles, 8% to directories such as Fresha, Healthdirect and Yellow Pages, 3% to news sites and 1% to social media.
220
The most-recommended businesses have more reviews
The three businesses AI named most in each area had a median of 220 Google reviews. The other businesses it named had a median of 82. Reviews are not the only reason, but they are a visible one.
94%
AI gets the facts right, mostly
When the assistants stated a fact about a business we checked (its address, phone, opening hours, services or prices), it was right 94% of the time. The most common mistake was opening hours, for 5 of the 12 businesses.
7/12
Many businesses contradict themselves
7 of the 12 businesses had a website and Google profile that disagreed on a detail, most often opening hours. AI assistants read both, and repeat both.
23%
Most of the businesses we checked were rarely named
The 12 businesses were named in a median of 23% of answers about their area and trade. 4 came up in 10% or fewer, and one was never named.
How we did it
12 local businesses (5 dentists, 4 physiotherapists and 3 hair salons) in 11 areas in NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC and WA. In each area: 6 questions locals ask, put twice to each assistant with web search on and the location set to the suburb, plus 4 questions about each business's own services, asked once. Another 46 answers asked about each business by name, to check facts.
Assistants: ChatGPT (gpt-6.1-sol), Gemini 3.8 Flash, Perplexity (Agent API, low preset) and Claude Opus 5.5, all with web search. The businesses named in each answer were extracted with Claude and checked by code. Facts were compared with each business's website and Google profile.
This is a small sample from one day: read the numbers as a first look, not a census. We will update them as more reports come in.
Data from 5 October 2026
Where does your business stand?
The AI Recommendation Report runs the same test for your business and your suburb: A$29, in English or Chinese.