Often not. ChatGPT local recommendations overlap only partly with Google’s map results. In our Quezon City test on October 27, 2026, ChatGPT named 24 businesses for five service questions, and 8 of them (33%) were in Google’s local top 3. Start by asking ChatGPT, Gemini and Google your three most common buying questions, then compare the names with your Google Maps rank.
More customers now ask an AI tool before they call anyone. ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews show business cards with ratings, phone numbers and maps inside their answers, and on October 23, 2026, the Indian directory Justdial announced a plugin that lists local businesses inside ChatGPT. A strong Google Maps position used to be the main local goal. This post explains what our test found, why AI picks differ from Maps, and how to check and fix your own listing.
What did ChatGPT and Gemini recommend in Quezon City?
They named some of the businesses Google ranks first, but not most of them. We asked one question per service, “Who is the best [service] in Quezon City?”, for an aircon cleaning service, a dentist, a pest control company, a plumber and a car repair shop. On October 27, 2026, we ran each question once in ChatGPT (temporary chat), Gemini and Google Search, then compared every name with the three businesses in Google’s local results that day.
| Factor | ChatGPT | Gemini | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Questions answered with business names | 5 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 2 of 5 |
| Businesses named | 24 | 25 | 9 |
| Also in Google’s local top 3 | 8 (33%) | 12 (48%) | 4 (44%) |
| First pick in Google’s local top 3 | 4 of 5 | 5 of 5 | 1 of 2 |
| Display problems seen | Quoted a company’s own rating claim | Scrambled names, one wrong category | None seen |
Across the three tools, the 58 recommendations covered 40 different listings. ChatGPT and Gemini chose the same first pick for 3 of 5 questions. For aircon cleaning, ChatGPT’s first pick was a nationwide booking platform rather than a Quezon City shop. For pest control, it listed a company whose head office is in Pasig.
Multi-branch businesses showed a second pattern. For dentists, ChatGPT and Gemini named different branches of one clinic chain. Both also named a branch of a second chain that was not the branch in Google’s local top 3. If you run more than one location, each branch profile is a separate listing that AI tools can pick or skip.
This was one city, five questions and one run per tool, using one logged-in account and each tool’s default model (Gemini showed Flash-Lite). Answers change between runs, accounts and locations. So treat these numbers as a dated snapshot, not a rate to expect for your business.
Do larger tests show the same gap?
Yes. A field test by marketer Ryan Doser, published October 7, 2026, asked ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity “Who is the best [service] in [city]?” for six home services in Omaha and Boise in the US. Of 250 recommendations, 97.6% were real local businesses, but only 22.8% were in Google’s top 3 map results. ChatGPT matched most often, at 31.0%.
- The four assistants agreed on the first pick in 6 of 72 head-to-head comparisons (8.3%).
- 7 of 250 recommendations (2.8%) showed a phone number that did not match the live Google listing.
- When answers were run again, an average of 79.1% of the businesses reappeared.
The study covers two US cities on one day, and its author sells an AI coding product, so read it as one data point. Also, it does not test which sources the assistants used. It matches our smaller Quezon City result: AI tools mostly name real, well-reviewed businesses, but rarely the same three that Google Maps puts first.
Why do ChatGPT local recommendations differ from Google Maps?
Google Maps ranks results for one searcher in one place, while ChatGPT local recommendations often work from a citywide picture. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that no one can pay for a better local ranking. Distance, in turn, depends on where the searcher stands. An AI answer to “best plumber in Quezon City” may not use that exact location, so businesses across the whole city compete.
However, AI tools also read more than your Business Profile. Our post on Facebook-only businesses and AI search covers an August 2026 BrightLocal study in which Google Business Profile was the most cited source for local AI answers, alongside business websites and review sites. A business with a strong profile but a thin website, or many reviews but two phone numbers, can rank well on Maps and still be described poorly, or skipped, in an AI answer.
OpenAI and Google do not publish how they choose which businesses to name. Google states that there are no special optimizations needed for AI Overviews beyond normal search practice, and it asks owners to keep Business Profile information up to date. Anyone who promises a place in ChatGPT’s answer is promising something no one controls.
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How do you check ChatGPT local recommendations for your business?
First, ask the questions your customers ask, in three tools, and write down what comes back. The whole check takes about 10 minutes.
- Write three questions a new customer would type, for example “Who is the best [your service] in [your city]?”, “Which [service] in [area] is open on Sunday?” and “Is [your business name] any good?”
- Open ChatGPT in a temporary chat, so past chats do not shape the answer, and ask each question.
- Ask the same questions in Gemini and in Google Search, and note whether an AI Overview appears.
- Search your service on Google Maps from your own area and note the top three businesses.
- Record for each answer whether you are named, in what position, and which competitors appear.
- Check every fact shown about you: name, branch, phone number, rating, hours and address.
Above all, a wrong fact is the most urgent finding. In our test, one tool listed a plumbing business under the category “serviced accommodation”, and the US study found mismatched phone numbers in 2.8% of picks. If you want a structured starting point, our free AI Visibility Self-Check covers 12 basics in about five minutes.
What should you fix first if AI tools skip you?
Fix your facts before you write new content. AI tools draw on your Business Profile, your website and review sites, so a wrong detail in one place can follow you into every answer. Google’s own help page says businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results.
- Complete every field in your Google Business Profile: category, hours, special hours, services and attributes.
- Use one phone number everywhere: profile, website, Facebook Page and directories.
- Give each branch its own profile with its own address and hours.
- Publish one website page that states your services, service area, hours and prices or price ranges in plain text.
- Reply to reviews, and ask recent customers to leave one.
- Keep your business name identical across every listing.
Our post on how to get your business named in a ChatGPT answer covers that website page in more detail. Keeping these facts consistent across every listing, and checking them each month, is the work our consulting and audits service covers.
How do you know if your fixes are working?
Because ChatGPT local recommendations change between runs, ask the same questions once a month and compare the results. Use the same wording, the same tools and a temporary chat each time, and record names, positions and facts in a simple sheet. For example, in the US study, about one in five businesses dropped out on a rerun. A three-month trend shows whether you appear more often and whether wrong facts have been fixed. Our guide to what an AI visibility audit checks lists the questions and records we track.
ChatGPT local recommendations: FAQ
Can I pay ChatGPT or Google to recommend my business?
No. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. ChatGPT ads, where shown, are labeled and sit below the answer, and OpenAI says they do not change what the answer says. Being named in the answer itself depends on the information the tool finds about you.
Why do ChatGPT local recommendations change each time I ask?
AI answers are generated fresh each time and can draw on different sources. In a US field test published in October 2026, about 79% of businesses reappeared when the same questions were asked again. Check the same questions every month and judge the pattern, not a single answer.
Is a top Google Maps ranking still worth working on?
Yes. In our Quezon City test, Gemini’s first pick was in Google’s local top 3 for all five questions, and ChatGPT’s first pick was for four of five. An accurate, complete Business Profile helps in both places, but it does not guarantee that AI tools will name you.
See what ChatGPT says about your business
Our free audit runs 10 of your buying questions on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews and gives you a screenshot of every answer. A person replies within 24 hours, Monday to Friday, and you keep the audit whether or not you work with us. Get your free audit.
