Blog · Research and guides

How AI picks local businesses.

Research and plain-English guides on getting recommended by ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, and found on Google. Written for owners, not marketers.

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Guides you can act on this week, and the study behind them. Every number comes from our own research.

Example AI answer to "Who's the best plumber in Somerville, MA?" naming three competitors, with your business not named

Guide · Oct 18, 2026

How to check what ChatGPT says about your business (and what to do if it names your competitors)

The two questions to ask, how to ask them so you see what a stranger sees, how to read the answers, and the five fixes to make if AI names someone else.

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Google map results for "electrician near me" next to an example AI answer that names only a few businesses

Guide · Oct 18, 2026

GEO vs local SEO: what changes when customers ask AI instead of Google

What each one is, what stays the same, what's different when AI names just two or three businesses, and what to do first.

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Chart: 2 of 147 local businesses AI named, across 446 answers

Study · Oct 10, 2026

We asked AI who to hire 446 times. 145 of 147 local businesses never came up.

We asked an AI assistant who to hire for 147 local businesses around Billerica, Somerville and Andover. Just 2 ever came up. Here's why, and five things you can do this week.

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