How ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity pick local businesses
The short answer
No assistant publishes a full recipe for local answers. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity combine what the model learned in training with a live web search, and use your approximate location. What they weigh is largely unpublished, so most claims about it are inference, not fact.
By Reputant · Updated 2026-10-30 · 5 min read
How does ChatGPT recommend businesses?
Two sources feed the answer. One is what the model absorbed in training, which gives it a general idea of what businesses exist and what they are known for. The other is a live web search, which the assistant runs when a question needs current information, such as "plumber near me".
OpenAI has said ChatGPT search uses outside search providers and partner content, and that it can use your approximate location to return local results. It has not published which data sources decide a local ranking, or how a review count compares with a website. Claims you read online that name a specific supplier behind local results should be treated as unconfirmed unless the company says so itself.
This guide separates what each company states from what outside observers infer. When a claim is inferred, it is marked that way.
Is it like ranking on Google?
Partly, and the results are harder to win. SOCi, a software company for multi-location brands, studied more than 350,000 locations across 2,751 multi-location brands in its 2026 Local Visibility Index. ChatGPT recommended just 1.2% of those locations, against an average 35.9% appearance rate in Google's local 3-Pack.
That is a study of large chains, so do not read it as your odds. It does show that an assistant gives a short list and leaves most businesses off it.
The same release reports that locations recommended by ChatGPT average 4.3-star ratings. An average is not a rule, but it fits the idea that an assistant is more comfortable naming businesses customers like.
Where does each assistant get its local answers?
The table separates what the company states from what is inferred. "Not stated" means the company has not published it that we could confirm.
| Assistant | What the company states | What is inferred, not confirmed |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Search can use outside search providers and partner content, and can use approximate location for local results (OpenAI help center). | Which data supplier decides local business lists. Claims that it relies on a particular search engine or places database are not confirmed by OpenAI. |
| Claude | Claude can run a web search to ground answers and cites its sources, and may use your location from your IP address for local requests (Anthropic help center). Anthropic names Bing as the source of image results only. | Which search source supplies text results for local queries. Anthropic does not name one on that page. |
| Gemini | Gemini is made by Google, which also runs Google Maps and Business Profiles. Google offers a Maps connection in Gemini apps. | How much of a given local answer comes from Google Business Profile data. It is natural to expect overlap, but Google has not published a ranking recipe for Gemini. |
| Perplexity | Perplexity runs web searches and shows its sources next to each answer. | Which places or business data sources it uses for local queries. Not stated. |
Reputant checks ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Perplexity and Google AI Overviews are not tracked today.
What is a safe thing to assume?
Any assistant that searches the web can only use what is public. So the safest assumption is that the same pages matter everywhere: your Google Business Profile, your reviews, your website and the directories that list you. That is inference from how search works, not something a company has confirmed for local results.
Local searches also carry your location. Ask from a different city, or without naming one, and the list can change completely. That is why every test prompt should name the town you serve.
Gemini is the one with an obvious route to Google's data, since Google makes both. Claude and ChatGPT sit on other search sources, which is a reason their answers can differ from Gemini's for the same question.
What should I do about it?
Do not chase a rumor about one data source. Keep your public information complete and consistent, collect recent reviews, and check each assistant directly. If ChatGPT names you and Gemini does not, you have learned something real that no article could tell you.
- Keep your profile, hours and services accurate everywhere customers look.
- Ask for honest reviews after each job, and reply to them.
- Say plainly on your website what you do and where.
- Test with real prompts on each assistant, more than once.
The full list of fixes and copyable prompts is in how to get your business recommended by ChatGPT, and AI visibility explains how to record your results.
Can anyone guarantee a recommendation?
No. These assistants change, and each answer is written fresh. Treat any promise of a guaranteed spot with suspicion. This area moves fast, so details in this guide are as of October 2026.
Reputant cannot guarantee a recommendation either. What it can do is show you, prompt by prompt, whether each assistant names you today and who it names instead, so you can see whether your changes made a difference.