Local businesses that rank well on Google Maps are not guaranteed to appear when customers ask AI assistants for recommendations, and the businesses AI surfaces shift significantly from one query to the next. A new analysis of 200,085 localized prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and Google AI Overviews found that the same prompt produces different sets of businesses on repeat runs, that the three platforms disagree sharply with each other, and that proximity still shapes which businesses get named. The takeaway for local marketers: a Google Business Profile and strong reviews are necessary, but tracking AI visibility is now its own discipline, separate from local pack rank tracking.
What the study measured
The study ran 200,085 non-branded prompts that a real local customer might type, such as “need an emergency dentist open late in brooklyn tonight,” across 1,300 business locations. Each prompt was repeated multiple times over a 60-day window and also run from multiple points on a map inside the same city. In total, the researchers logged 1.9 million AI citations and tracked which businesses each platform returned on each run. Two metrics drove the analysis:
- Variance: how much the list of businesses changes between repeat runs.
- Persistence: how often a business that appears once shows up again on subsequent attempts.
Empty responses were common enough to matter. ChatGPT returned no business 10% of the time, while both Google surfaces returned nothing 11% of the time.
AI recommendations change a lot, even for the same prompt
The headline finding is that AI platforms return different businesses each time a prompt is run, even when nothing else changes. Average overlap between result sets was just 20% to 33%:
- ChatGPT: 23% average overlap between runs.
- Google AI Mode: 21% average overlap.
- Google AI Overviews: 33% average overlap.
Persistence was higher. A business that appeared once was seen again in roughly half of subsequent attempts: 50% for ChatGPT and AI Mode, 58% for AI Overviews. Still, 71% to 80% of businesses appeared in half the attempts or fewer, meaning inconsistent inclusion is the norm rather than the exception.
Google’s AI Overviews was the most consistent of the three, but also returned the shortest lists, with a median of three businesses per response compared with four for ChatGPT and AI Mode. ChatGPT averaged 4.1 businesses per response, AI Mode averaged 3.5, and AI Overviews averaged 2.5.
Google Maps rankings don’t translate to AI visibility
Google Maps mentioned a tracked business in 66% of searches, roughly double the rate of any AI surface. AI Overviews mentioned tracked businesses 38% of the time, ChatGPT 33%, and AI Mode 32%. Maps was also far more stable: 99% average agreement between repeat attempts versus 91% to 96% for the AI platforms.
The platforms also disagree with each other. AI Mode and AI Overviews share only 29.3% of named businesses on average, even though both lean heavily on Google Business Profile. ChatGPT overlaps just 19% to 20% with either Google surface, reflecting its different source mix, which leans on Yelp and Bing.
Why the gap? The Local Pack uses a single local ranking algorithm to pick a fixed set of businesses. AI platforms, by contrast, perform fan-out queries: breaking the original prompt into several related searches, running each one, then blending the answers. Different fan-outs, different blends, different businesses named.
Moving across town changes the results too
Proximity still matters. Roughly 53% to 59% of AI-recommended businesses fall within 5 km of the searcher, and 72% to 78% fall within 10 km. Google’s surfaces had tight radii: the 90% circle of influence was 64 km for AI Mode and just 38 km for AI Overviews. ChatGPT’s circle stretched to 287 km, a much wider net, and 53% of its picks still landed within 5 km.
Running the same prompt from different points in the same city produced a 36% overlap on ChatGPT, 46.9% on AI Mode, and 47.4% on AI Overviews. Only 3.5% of ChatGPT results were consistently present across points, compared with 8.8% for AI Mode and 25.0% for AI Overviews.
Where AI platforms get their local information
Business websites remain the single biggest source. Across all three platforms, 93% of unique domains cited were business sites, and they made up 42% of all citations. Google Business Profile accounted for 28.5% of citations overall, though ChatGPT barely used it. All three platforms pulled from Yelp, and Google’s surfaces also leaned on Facebook.
This explains the cross-platform disagreement: ChatGPT’s reliance on Yelp and Bing pulls in businesses that Google’s surfaces, anchored in Business Profile, never see.
What local businesses should do
The core message is that local AI search is volatile enough to track on its own. A few practical steps follow from the data:
- Track AI visibility separately from Maps rank. The two correlate far less than many local SEO guides assume, so service-area rank reports and AI mentions need to be measured independently. Tools like SEOScanPro’s GEO Grids surface rank position across a whole service area at once, which is useful for spotting the towns where a business is invisible to traditional local search.
- Keep NAP consistent and your address easy to find. Proximity still drives recommendations, and a clean, consistent business listing gives AI surfaces a reason to anchor a recommendation on your location.
- Invest in reviews and directory presence. Business sites are the top source, and Google Business Profile is the top structured source for the Google surfaces. Reviews on Yelp and Facebook feed into ChatGPT and Google’s surfaces respectively.
- Monitor competitor mentions over time. Because AI mentions fluctuate, the businesses that recur most often are usually the ones putting in consistent off-site work. Logging who else gets named alongside you is a useful proxy for who’s ahead.
FAQ
How often do AI platforms recommend the same local businesses for the same prompt?
On average, only about 20% to 33% of businesses overlap between repeat runs of the same prompt. A business that appears once shows up again on roughly half of subsequent attempts across all three platforms.
Does ranking well on Google Maps help with AI visibility?
Not directly. Google Maps mentions a tracked business 66% of the time, while AI surfaces mention them 32% to 38% of the time. Strong Maps rankings are necessary but not sufficient for AI recommendations.
Which AI platform mentions the most local businesses?
ChatGPT names the most, averaging 4.1 businesses per response with a median of 4. Google AI Mode averages 3.5 with a median of 4, and Google AI Overviews averages 2.5 with a median of 3.
This article summarizes reporting from brightlocal.com. See our editorial disclaimer for how our articles are produced.
Run a free scan to see your AI Visibility Score, SEO rating, and local citation accuracy.