The short answer
Gemini recommends local businesses about 11% of the time, compared to 1.2% for ChatGPT, according to a 2026 study of nearly 350,000 business locations. The gap comes down to data accuracy: Gemini pulls live information from Google Maps, while ChatGPT and Perplexity work from business listings that are often outdated or wrong.
Why does Gemini recommend local businesses so much more than ChatGPT?
A 2026 study of local business AI visibility found Gemini recommends a business about 11% of the time it’s asked, versus 7.4% for Perplexity and just 1.2% for ChatGPT. That means Gemini recommends local businesses roughly nine times more often than ChatGPT does for the same kind of search.
The numbers come from SOCi’s 2026 Local Visibility Index, covered by Search Engine Land, which analyzed close to 350,000 business locations across 2,751 multi-location brands. For comparison, those same brands showed up in Google’s local 3-pack 35.9% of the time, so a business that ranks well on Google can still be nearly invisible to ChatGPT.
Why is Gemini so much more accurate than ChatGPT?
Gemini pulls live business information straight from Google Maps, while ChatGPT and Perplexity often work from indexed listings that go stale. The same 2026 study found business details were only about 68% accurate on ChatGPT and Perplexity, compared with 100% accuracy on Gemini.
Google’s own developer documentation confirms Gemini can ground its answers in data from more than 250 million places worldwide, pulling hours, reviews, and current status directly from Google Maps rather than guessing from older training data. That grounding is the mechanical reason Gemini gets the details right more often.
What does local business AI visibility mean for Barrie or Simcoe County?
If your Google Business Profile is accurate, a Barrie or Simcoe County business already has a real shot at Gemini recommending it, since Gemini draws straight from that same Google Maps data. Getting picked up by ChatGPT and Perplexity takes more work, since those tools rely on how consistent and well-reviewed a business looks across the wider web.
The same study found AI tools favor businesses with strong reviews rather than just proximity. Locations recommended by ChatGPT averaged 4.3 stars, Perplexity 4.1, and Gemini 3.9, all higher than what it typically takes to just rank in a plain Google search.
A few things worth checking this week
- Confirm your Google Business Profile hours, address, and phone number are current
- Check that your name, address, and phone number match exactly across your website, Facebook, and directory listings
- Keep collecting reviews, since AI tools appear to use rating as a filter, not just a ranking boost
- List your business fully on Bing Places too, not just Google. It only takes a few minutes and most local businesses skip it entirely
- Post updates through your Google Business Profile’s “Posts” feature on a regular basis. It keeps your listing looking active, which is exactly the kind of signal these AI tools seem to reward
Does this mean you should stop worrying about ChatGPT?
No. ChatGPT and Perplexity are still where a growing share of people start a search, even if they recommend businesses less often than Gemini does. A business that fixes its listing accuracy and review consistency improves its local business AI visibility on all three platforms at once, not just Gemini.
This is exactly the kind of groundwork Art of AI helps marketing teams and agencies get right before chasing flashier AI visibility tactics that won’t stick. The fix usually starts with the boring stuff: a clean, consistent business profile, not a new AI tool.
Does listing your business on Bing actually help with ChatGPT?
It can, and it is easy to overlook since almost nobody in local business thinks about Bing anymore. OpenAI’s own help documentation on ChatGPT search confirms that ChatGPT search partners with outside providers, including Microsoft, to help answer some questions and can pull in location-based results through those partners. Microsoft’s search infrastructure is Bing, so a business with a thin or missing Bing Places listing is starting from a weaker data source before ChatGPT is ever asked about it.
I went in and fully optimized Art of AI’s own Bing Places listing for exactly this reason, matching the hours, categories, and description we had already cleaned up on our Google Business Profile. It costs nothing but a bit of time, and it closes one more gap between what a business actually is and what an AI tool sees when it goes looking.
I have also seen the Google side of this pay off directly. Posting regular updates through Google Business Profile’s “Posts” feature, on top of keeping listing details accurate, is something I credit with helping move Art of AI’s own Google search ranking from page 4 to page 1 over time. It is a small, easy habit rather than a technical fix, and it keeps a profile looking active instead of dormant.
What happens after an AI recommendation turns into a phone call?
Getting recommended by Gemini or ChatGPT only matters if the business can handle what comes next: a phone call. A caller who reaches voicemail or a full mailbox after finding you through an AI search is just as likely to move to the next result as any other missed call.
AI supports the front desk here too. A trained voice receptionist can answer every call an AI recommendation generates, take down the details, and get the message to the right person, without replacing the team that runs the business.
Keep reading: How we help local businesses get seen, look credible and answer fast
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between how ChatGPT and Gemini find local businesses?
Gemini pulls live information directly from Google Maps, while ChatGPT and Perplexity rely on indexed listings from across the web that are not always current. That difference in data source is the main reason Gemini recommends local businesses more often and more accurately.
Why does Gemini recommend businesses about nine times more often than ChatGPT?
A 2026 study of nearly 350,000 business locations found Gemini recommends a business about 11% of the time it’s asked, compared with 1.2% for ChatGPT. The gap comes down to data accuracy, since Gemini’s information stays current through Google Maps.
Does ranking well on Google guarantee AI visibility?
No. The same study found businesses that rank well in Google’s local 3-pack still show up in AI recommendations far less often, since AI tools filter more aggressively on data accuracy and review quality than traditional search does.
What star rating do AI tools favor when recommending a business?
Businesses recommended by ChatGPT averaged 4.3 stars, Perplexity 4.1, and Gemini 3.9. AI tools tend to treat ratings as a filter rather than a simple ranking boost, so a business with an average rating may be left out of recommendations entirely.
What’s the first thing a local business should fix to improve AI visibility?
Start with the Google Business Profile: correct hours, address, and phone number, plus a name and address that match exactly across the website and other directories. Reviews matter too, since AI tools use rating as a filter before they will recommend a business at all.
Does my business need to be listed on Bing to show up in ChatGPT?
It helps. ChatGPT search partners with Microsoft, whose search infrastructure is Bing, to help answer some questions and can pull in location-based results from those partners. A business with a thin or outdated Bing Places listing is working from weaker data than one that has optimized it, on top of a clean Google Business Profile.
Want AI to actually recommend your business?
Art of AI helps Simcoe County businesses and marketing teams clean up the data AI tools rely on, and build the systems that back up your team once the calls start coming in.
