05.01Lesson6 min

What AI reads before it answers

In our Local AI Index, 62% of what AI cited was a directory, a review site or a best-of list. Which ones, on which assistant, and how to find yours.

When someone asks an AI assistant who to hire, it doesn't look up a ranking. It searches the web, reads a handful of pages and names the businesses those pages agree on. Getting onto those pages is the most direct way to get named.

To see which pages, we asked ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode 800 questions like “best plumber in Denver”, across 10 trades and 10 US cities, in November 2026, and sorted every website they cited. That's our Local AI Index.

What they cited

  • Directories and review sites: 37% of everything cited. Thumbtack alone came up in 26% of all answers, Google's own business listings in 24%, Angi in 19%, ConsumerAffairs in 16%, the BBB in 12% and Yelp in 11%.
  • Businesses' own websites: 29%.
  • Best-of lists, like “The 10 best HVAC companies in Phoenix”: 25%.
  • News and magazine sites: 7%.

Sources AI cites · HVAC · Des Moines

You listed?

  • google.com/maps
    41✓
  • yelp.com
    29✓
  • angi.com
    18✗
  • reddit.com/r/desmoines
    14✗
  • bbb.org
    12✓
  • local news roundup
    9✗

Sample data

The websites AI cited for one trade and city, and whether each one lists you.

Each assistant reads differently

  • ChatGPT leaned on best-of lists: 46% of what it cited.
  • Google AI Mode cited Google's own business listings in 90% of its answers.
  • Gemini cited Angi in 59% of its answers, and Thumbtack in 42%.
  • Perplexity cited Thumbtack in 54% of its answers, and ConsumerAffairs in 34%.

So you can be named on one assistant and missing on another: they read different sites.

And every trade is different

Lawyers live on Avvo, Super Lawyers and Justia; mechanics on Carfax and RepairPal; landscapers on Houzz; dentists on Opencare. The next lessons cover the general sites every business needs, then your trade's own, then the best-of lists.

Do this before the next lesson

  • Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity your customers' question, two ways each: “Who's the best [service] in [town]?” and “I need a [service] in [town], who would you recommend?”
  • Write down every website they link to, and how many times each one comes up.
  • Sort the list into directories and review sites, best-of lists, news sites and businesses' own sites. You'll work through it in the next lessons.
See the Local AI Index

In Groow

Groow asks your customers' questions on every assistant each week and lists every website the answers cite, with the ones that name your competitors but not you at the top.

Put this to work on your business

Groow checks how ChatGPT, Google and Google Maps see your business every week, tells you what to fix first, and drafts the work for your OK.

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