# The local AI gap: ChatGPT recommends 1.2% of local businesses

**Confidence: [M-H]** (SOCi 2026 Local Visibility Index + Google primary docs)

ChatGPT recommends only **1.2%** of local businesses (vs Google's 35.9%).
Driver: profile-data accuracy is ~68% on ChatGPT/Perplexity vs ~100% on
Gemini — which is why Gemini's local recommendation rate is ~10x higher.
AI Overview local packs are replacing the classic 3-pack on ~8% of local
queries (climbing), often surfacing only 1-2 businesses.

**The fix is mechanical (profile stack):** Google Business Profile (Google's
official guide names it a structured AI input) + **Bing Places** (feeds
ChatGPT) + Apple Maps + Yelp (feeds Perplexity) + consistent NAP everywhere +
review volume/recency + service pages answering specific local questions +
LocalBusiness schema. This is the most underserved, most mechanizable AEO
segment — commercial tools price it out at $250+/mo.

**Evidence:** https://www.soci.ai/blog/how-to-rank-in-chatgpt-perplexity-and-google-ai-overview/ ·
https://www.searchable.com/blog/local-business-ai-search-optimization-2026 ·
https://www.sterlingsky.ca/the-state-of-local-seo-in-2026/
