Does AI recommend local businesses in the US?

Updated October 15, 2026

Yes, and only a few per answer. Ask ChatGPT for a CPA in Plano or a plumber in Austin and you get a short list, often with Yelp, BBB or Thumbtack pages behind it. Our published US city studies count who gets named. Our free check asks the same kind of questions for your city.

How people in the US ask AI for a business

Americans ask by city and state ("Plano, TX"), by neighborhood, and by ZIP code ("plumber near 78704"). They ask for a CPA, an attorney or a lawyer, a realtor, an HVAC company.

Licensing comes up in the question for many trades: "licensed electrician", "board-certified dentist". Assistants that search the web can check a public state license record.

“Best CPA for small business taxes in Plano, TX?”
“Emergency plumber near 78704?”
“Who's the best realtor in Austin for first-time buyers?”
“Licensed electrician in Fort Worth for a panel upgrade?”

The sites AI reads about US businesses

Assistants that search the web as they answer read listings and review sites, and the ones people in the US use aren't the same as elsewhere. Keep your name, address and phone identical on all of them.

Google Business Profile
The listing most answers start from. Categories, hours and recent reviews all show up.
Yelp
Cited often in answers about local services. In our stored Perplexity answers, yelp.com is among the most-cited sites.
BBB
The Better Business Bureau. bbb.org is one of the sites Perplexity cites most in our stored answers.
Angi
A home-services marketplace with public reviews, widely read for trades.
Thumbtack
A services marketplace. thumbtack.com is the second most-cited site in our stored Perplexity answers.
Nextdoor
Neighbors recommending businesses to each other. Some of those recommendations are public.

Cities we can check in the US

Any city or town works, including small ones. These are just examples: Austin, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, New York City, Miami, Denver, Portland.

Our published city studies

Each study counts every business the four assistants named across around 48 buyer questions in one city.

How the free check works in the US

We put around 48 questions about your trade and your town to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity and save every answer word for word. Your report shows how many named you, who was named instead, and your first fix.

Enter your website and we read your business, trade, city and state from it. Confirm them and we run the check.

Our question sets were written in US English, so the wording matches how Americans ask.

Prices are in US dollars.

Check your business for free

Enter your website. We ask the four assistants the questions your customers ask and email you who they recommend.

Common questions from US businesses

Which US cities have you studied?

Our published studies cover the cities listed on this page, mostly in Texas. Each one counts every business the four assistants named across around 48 buyer questions.

Which directories do AI assistants cite for US businesses?

In the Perplexity answers we've stored with their sources, LinkedIn, Thumbtack, BBB and Clutch are the most-cited sites, with Yelp and SuperPages further down the list. Which ones matter depends on your trade.

Does a ZIP code in the question change the answer?

It can, because the assistant answers the place in the question, and a ZIP code is a smaller place than a city. Our check asks its "near" questions with your city name today. We plan to add ZIP codes, but that is not built yet.

Does it work in any US city?

Yes. Any city or town works, whether or not we've published a study there.

Other countries

Not listed? It still works. See the industry pages and guides.