- Businesses in Google’s Local Pack are rarely recommended: Of 111 businesses from the Local Pack, ChatGPT names 13, Perplexity 29 and Google’s AI Overview 32.
- Almost every AI answer links to websites of local businesses. Your own website is the most important source for a recommendation.
- ChatGPT talks about qualifications in every answer about dentists and almost never links a business directory. Perplexity links directories such as Das Örtliche or Gelbe Seiten in 32 of 40 answers.
- ChatGPT and Perplexity rarely recommend the same businesses. Only for 11 of 39 questions do both link the same business website.
Your customers also ask ChatGPT: “Which dentist in Cologne is recommended for implants?” We wanted to know which businesses the AI systems name, whether they are the same ones Google shows in the Local Pack, and what a business can do to be named.
The Local Pack is the block with a map and three businesses that Google shows above the search results for local searches.
An example: dentist for implants in Berlin
| Who answers | Practices named | Of which from the Local Pack |
|---|---|---|
| Local Pack (three entries) | Berlin-Klinik Medizinmanagement, F80, KU64 | – |
| Google AI Overview | seven practices, including F80 and KU64 | 2 of 3 |
| Perplexity | five practices, such as the Implantat-Zentrum Berlin | 0 of 3 |
| ChatGPT | the implant consultation at Charité and two practices | 0 of 3 |
Perplexity and ChatGPT name none of the three practices from the Local Pack. ChatGPT justifies its selection as follows: “The following suggestions are based on verifiable qualifications and services, not on star ratings.”
1. A place in the Local Pack is not enough
For 40 questions in ten cities, Google shows a total of 111 businesses in the Local Pack. This is how many of them the AI answers name:
- Google AI Overview29%
- Perplexity26%
- ChatGPT12%
Source: ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google, query on October 25 and 26, 2026, 111 businesses across 40 questions in ten cities
- ChatGPT names 13 of the 111 businesses, about one in nine.
- Perplexity names 29, about one in four.
- Google’s AI Overview names 32, even though the Local Pack is on the same page.
What you can do: Do not just check your place in the Local Pack. Ask your customers’ question for your city in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google and note who is named.
2. Your own website is the most important source
Almost all answers link the websites of local businesses:
| System | Answers with a business website | Business websites per answer |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | 39 of 40 | 2,6 |
| Perplexity | 40 of 40 | 5,4 |
| Google AI Overview | 36 of 38 | 2,4 |
What you can do: Create a separate page for each service on which the service and location appear together, for example “Dental implants in Cologne-Ehrenfeld” or “Heat pump installation in Stuttgart.” State your address, service area and exactly what you offer there.
3. ChatGPT pays attention to qualifications
In its answers, ChatGPT often names the credentials with which it justifies a recommendation:
- Dentists: In all ten answers, ChatGPT talks about qualifications, such as a specialization in implantology or a certification.
- Heating installers: In six of ten answers, ChatGPT mentions the master craftsman business (Meisterbetrieb).
- Financial advisors: In eight of ten answers, ChatGPT names the IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) or a register in which advisors are listed.
What you can do: Write your credentials on your website, not just on certificates in your practice: areas of specialization, certifications, master craftsman titles, register numbers and memberships in professional societies.
4. Perplexity uses business directories, ChatGPT hardly at all
Perplexity links at least one business directory or review portal in 32 of 40 answers. The most frequent are Das Örtliche (18 answers), Gelbe Seiten (12), WhoFinance (12), Jameda, Sanego and Kennst du einen (7 each). ChatGPT links such a directory in only 3 of 40 answers.
What you can do: Check your entries in Das Örtliche and Gelbe Seiten, in Sanego and Jameda as a doctor, in WhoFinance as a financial advisor. Name, address and services there should match your website.
5. Each system recommends different businesses
ChatGPT and Perplexity link at least one common business website for only 11 of 39 questions. For the remaining 28 questions, they link different businesses.
What you can do: Measure your mentions in each system separately. Being named by Perplexity does not automatically mean being named by ChatGPT.
Google also answers local questions with AI
For 38 of 40 local questions, Google shows an AI Overview, for 37 also the Local Pack. The AI Overview appears above all other results, including above the Local Pack.
How we support you
- Assessment: We ask your customers’ questions for your city and your service in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google and record which businesses and sources are named.
- Pages with location and credentials: For every question your customers ask, we write content with location, services and proof that AI answers use as a source.
- Measurement per system: We measure your mentions per system and per city.
How we measured
On October 25 and 26, 2026, we asked four questions, each for ten major cities:
- “Which dentist in [city] is recommended for implants?”
- “Which heating installer in [city] installs heat pumps?”
- “Which insurance broker in [city] is recommended?”
- “Which independent financial advisor in [city] is good?”
The questions went to ChatGPT (with web search), Perplexity and Google Search. The cities are Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Leipzig, Dortmund and Nuremberg. We checked individually for each name whether a business from the Local Pack appears in an answer. AI answers change from query to query; the figures show the status on that day.
