ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Mode: how AI decides which local business to recommend
More customers now ask an AI assistant where to eat, stay or get a haircut. How the answer is built, where each assistant gets its data, and what you can actually do to show up.
Key takeaways
- AI assistants don't keep a secret ranking: they search the web, read sources and summarize.
- Each assistant leans on different sources: Google for Gemini and AI Mode, largely the Bing index and business websites for ChatGPT, Apple Business for Siri and Apple Maps.
- The same basics still win: complete, consistent listings, recent reviews with replies, and a clear website.
- Nobody can guarantee you a mention: be wary of anyone selling "AI rankings".
- You can measure where you stand by asking assistants the questions a customer would ask.
"Where can I get great tacos tonight in Austin?" Not long ago, that question almost always ended up on Google Maps. Today a growing share of people ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI Mode, and get a written answer with two or three names and a short explanation. If your name isn't there, for that customer you simply don't exist.
This guide explains how those answers are built, where the information comes from, what you can do to appear, and what's just smoke. No promises: AI tools change often and nobody controls their answers.
How big this already is
In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of US consumers, ChatGPT and other AI tools became the third most used source for local business reviews and recommendations: 45% use them, up from just 6% a year earlier. 40% say they trust AI recommendations, and 82% read AI-generated review summaries1.
Google itself is part of the shift. AI Overviews appear on many searches, and AI Mode, Google's conversational search built on a version of Gemini, answers complex questions with text, voice and photos.
How an answer is built
Picture a very fast assistant you ask for advice. For a local question it does, roughly, three things:
- It searches. It turns your question into one or more searches on the web or in a database (a search engine, a map, a business directory).
- It reads. It opens some of the results: business listings, websites, reviews, articles, local guides.
- It summarizes. It writes an answer with the names that, based on what it read, best fit the question. It often cites its sources.
Two practical consequences. First: if your information isn't online, or is inconsistent, the AI can't use it. Second: the AI repeats what everyone else says. If your reviews keep mentioning "handmade tortillas" and "friendly staff", there's a good chance the answer will use exactly those words.
Where each assistant gets its data
This is where it gets complicated, because each assistant has its own sources and none publishes the full list. The table below is based on official documentation and independent studies. Treat it as a guide, not gospel.
| Assistant | Main sources for local businesses | What to work on |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini, AI Overviews and AI Mode | Google's data: search results, Google Maps, Google Business Profile and reviews (Google doesn't publish the details) | A complete Google Business Profile, recent reviews with replies, your website |
| ChatGPT | Largely the Bing index; business websites are the most cited source, then mentions on other sites and some directories2 | A clear website, Bing Places, presence in local guides |
| Microsoft Copilot | Bing and Bing Places4 | An up-to-date Bing Places listing |
| Perplexity | Web sources it cites openly: websites, Yelp, Tripadvisor, directories, articles | Website, Yelp and Tripadvisor listings |
| Siri and Apple Maps | Apple Business (formerly Business Connect) and Apple Maps ratings | Your Apple Business place card |
| Meta AI | Not publicly documented in detail | To be safe: a complete, consistent Facebook Page and Instagram profile |
One useful data point: in a BrightLocal study of 800 local searches in ChatGPT across 20 US cities, 58% of cited sources were business websites, 27% were mentions on other sites and 15% were directories. The same study found that ChatGPT search relies largely on Bing's index2. It dates from late 2024, but the message is clear: your website matters, and Bing is not optional.
What AI looks at when choosing
No assistant publishes its "recipe". But we can reason from what's documented and from what tests show.
1. Relevance: do you actually do what the customer asked?
If someone asks for a "vegan bakery" and your listing just says "bakery", the AI may not connect you to the question. The right category, a clear description, and services or menu items in your customers' own words: it's the same "relevance" principle Google describes for local search3.
2. Trust: what do others say about you?
Many recent reviews with replies. Mentions in local guides, news stories, industry sites. For Google, "prominence" partly depends on the number of reviews and positive ratings3; AI tools reading the same sources end up rewarding the same things.
3. Consistency: is your information the same everywhere?
Different names, addresses, phone numbers or hours across Google, Yelp, Facebook and your website confuse an AI too. When sources disagree, the assistant may pick a "safer" business instead.
4. Clarity: is your information easy to read?
A website with hours written as text, a page per service, a readable menu (not only a photo or PDF), real answers to common questions. Anything a person finds in ten seconds, an AI finds too.
The role of reviews in AI answers
Reviews do two jobs. They're a trust signal: an assistant asked for "a reliable mechanic" tends to choose businesses with many recent positive reviews. And they're a goldmine of details: customers say, in their own words, that you have "a quiet patio", "big portions" or "staff who speak Spanish". Those are exactly the phrases that end up in AI answers and review summaries.
What you can do:
- keep a steady flow of new reviews, because a summary built on two-year-old reviews describes a business that may no longer exist;
- reply with real context: "thanks for trying our new gluten-free menu" adds a fact a summary can pick up;
- fix recurring problems: if ten reviews mention long waits, no digital strategy will hide it.
A hands-on test (example)
Take an invented business: Rosa's Bakery (example) in Denver. Great pastries, 4.7 stars on Google with 85 reviews. The owner asks three assistants: "What's the best bakery in Denver for a custom birthday cake?"
- Gemini lists it in the top three, quoting "custom cakes" from the reviews.
- ChatGPT doesn't mention it: it names three bakeries featured in a local food guide and on their own websites.
- Perplexity mentions it, but with old hours taken from an outdated directory listing.
What does this (invented but realistic) test tell us? The Google profile works and Gemini reads it. ChatGPT is missing a website (the bakery only has Instagram) and outside mentions. And there's stale data out there to fix. Three different actions, no magic: a simple web page about custom cakes, a pitch to the local guide, a corrected directory listing.
Questions to try, by industry
| Industry | Typical questions |
|---|---|
| Restaurant | "Best seafood in [city]?" · "Wood-fired pizza downtown [city]?" · "Romantic dinner spot in [city]?" |
| Café, bakery | "Where to get a good breakfast in [neighborhood]?" · "Bakery for custom cakes in [city]?" |
| Hotel, inn, B&B | "Quiet B&B near [place] with parking?" · "Family-friendly hotel in [city] near the beach?" |
| Salon, spa | "Hair salon good with curly hair in [city]?" · "Spa in [neighborhood] open on Sundays?" |
| Auto repair, trades | "Honest mechanic in [city]?" · "Emergency electrician in [area]?" |
| Shop | "Where to buy [product] in [city]?" · "Wine shop with natural wines in [city]?" |
Notice the words that matter: "honest", "quiet", "family-friendly", "open on Sundays". AI looks for those traits in reviews, listings and websites. If they're true for you, make sure they're written down somewhere.
What to do, in order of importance
- A complete, verified Google Business Profile. Right primary category, extra categories, hours (including holidays), real photos, description, services or menu. It's the foundation for Gemini and AI Mode. Full guide here.
- Steady reviews, with replies. Ask every customer, with no rewards, and reply to every review.
- Bing Places and Apple Business. Two free listings many owners forget, feeding ChatGPT, Copilot and Siri. How to set them up.
- A simple but complete website. Even one page works if it has name, address, phone, hours, what you do, the area you serve and price ranges, written as text.
- The same data everywhere. List the platforms you're on and check name, address, phone, hours and website. Fix the differences.
- Your industry platforms. Yelp and Tripadvisor for restaurants, Booking.com and Tripadvisor for hotels: AI tools read them often.
- Get mentioned by local sources. A local news story, a city guide, your chamber of commerce or business association.
- Measure and repeat. Once a month, ask the assistants the same questions and note who gets mentioned.
How to measure your AI visibility
- Write three questions the way a customer would.
- Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity (ideally in a private window or logged out, to avoid personalized answers).
- Note: are you mentioned? Who's mentioned instead? Which sources are cited?
- Look at the cited sources: if the same guide or directory keeps showing up, consider how to get on it.
What to avoid
- Anyone promising "guaranteed AI rankings". There's no way to buy a mention in ChatGPT or Gemini. For local search, Google says explicitly that you can't pay for a better local ranking3.
- Fake or AI-written reviews. They break platform rules and, in the US, the FTC rule on reviews, and they're exactly the content these systems try to filter out.
- Keyword-stuffed pages. Text like "best pizza Chicago best pizza Chicago downtown" helps neither people nor AI.
- Chasing every new trend. The basics (listings, reviews, website, consistency) work across today's platforms and tomorrow's.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay to appear in ChatGPT or Gemini answers?
No. There's currently no way to buy a mention in an assistant's answer. Some interfaces may show ads, but they're separate and labeled as ads.
Do I need to rewrite my website "for AI"?
No. A website written clearly for people works for AI too: key information as text, a page per service, real FAQs. Avoid tricks and unnatural text.
If I don't show up today, can I show up next month?
Yes, with consistency. Listings update quickly; reputation (reviews, mentions) builds week by week. Measure monthly with the same questions and look at the trend.
Can AI get my business details wrong?
Yes: old hours, a wrong phone number, or confusing you with a similarly named business. The best fix is correct, consistent data on all the main sources.
In short
AI hasn't changed the rules of the game: it has made them stricter. Businesses with well-kept listings, genuine recent reviews, thoughtful replies and consistent information get found on Google, and stand a good chance of being recommended by AI too.
Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
- BrightLocal, Uncovering ChatGPT Search Sources (December 2024)
- Google, How to improve your local ranking on Google
- Microsoft Bing Blog, Introducing the New Bing Places for Business (October 2025)
Sources checked on October 22, 2026. Platforms change often: if you spot something out of date, let us know.
