How local businesses get recommended by ChatGPT and Perplexity: what the evidence says

The evidence so far says AI tools lean on a business's own website, its Google reviews and its Google Business Profile. Technical extras such as llms.txt, FAQ schema and page-speed scores showed no meaningful link to AI visibility in one 2026 study. Be cautious: it is a vendor study, and no one can guarantee a mention.

What the study found

In May 2026 the marketing-software company Insites published an analysis of 10,000 local businesses across ChatGPT and Perplexity, correlating more than 200 signals with AI outcomes. Its main findings:

• 93% of businesses were known to at least one AI platform, but only 55% had accurate information.
• Google reviews were the strongest signal: businesses found by both tools averaged 133 reviews, against 11 for invisible ones.
• Google Business Profile completeness and presence in the local map pack mattered. Businesses in the local pack were recommended about 3.5 times more often.
• The business's own website was the most cited source, and sites with more pages and recent updates were more likely to appear.
• Core Web Vitals, structured data, llms.txt and FAQ schema showed no meaningful correlation.

Read it with care. It is a vendor study that promotes its own audit tool, and the article does not publish the sampling method, query set or statistics. Correlation does not prove cause. It is useful as a direction, not as proof.

What Google itself says

For its AI Overviews and AI Mode, Google says no special optimisation is needed. Keep crawling allowed, make content findable through internal links, keep important content as text, make sure structured data matches the page, and keep Business Profile information current.

What this means in practice

1. Get accurate first. Almost half of the businesses in the study were known but described wrongly. Fix your facts everywhere.
2. Collect and answer genuine reviews. Ask for detail, such as the service and the place.
3. Complete the Google Business Profile using the checklist.
4. Grow your own website with pages that answer real questions, and update them.
5. Do not pay for "AI ranking" promises.

A note on maps in ChatGPT

In our testing, the map cards ChatGPT shows for hotels use Google listing data. That is our observation, not a published rule, but it is why a complete Google profile matters as much as the website.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Insites: What AI uses to choose local businesses and what it ignores (vendor study, May 2026)
• Google Search Central: AI features and your website
• Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking

Keep reading

• What is AEO? Answer engine optimisation explained for Indian businesses
• A 30-minute AI search self-audit for any local business