A September 2026 BrightLocal study of 200,085 local searches shows where ChatGPT and Google’s AI products get local business information. Here is what it means for South Florida businesses.
The short answer
AI platforms build local recommendations from several sources at once: the business’s own website, its Google Business Profile, and third-party sites such as Yelp. In a September 2026 BrightLocal study of 200,085 localized searches, business websites made up about 42% of all citations and Google Business Profile made up 28.5%. No single source decides the answer, and the answer changes from one search to the next.
What the study measured
BrightLocal ran localized, non-branded prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and Google AI Overviews for roughly 1,300 business locations. The searches produced 1,967,762 citations across 116,670 domains. Each location was tested with five prompts per platform.
Two limits matter. The data is national, not South Florida specific. And BrightLocal sells an AI visibility tracker built on this data, so we treat the study as one strong data point, not as settled fact.
Five findings that matter
1. The business website is the largest single source. About 93% of the unique domains cited were individual business websites, and business sites accounted for roughly 42% of all citations. The website is no longer only a destination. It is source material.
2. Google Business Profile is the second pillar. It accounted for 28.5% of all citations. If the profile and the website disagree, the AI has two versions of the business to choose from.
3. Third-party sites still carry weight. Yelp accounted for 8.53% of citations and appeared more often in ChatGPT results. Which directories matter depends on the category, and BrightLocal breaks the sources out by sector.
4. Ranking in Google Maps does not mean an AI will name you. Google Maps mentioned a tracked business in 66% of searches. The AI surfaces did so far less often: 38% for AI Overviews, 33% for ChatGPT, and 32% for AI Mode.
5. The answers are unstable. Repeat searches returned only 20% to 33% of the same businesses. ChatGPT shared just 19% to 20% of named businesses with either Google surface. One good result is an anecdote, not a measurement.
What this means in South Florida
Our market has conditions that make source consistency harder than it looks. These points are our read of the data, not findings from the study.
- Service areas cross city lines. A roofer, plumber, or bankruptcy attorney in West Palm Beach often serves Wellington, Jupiter, Boca Raton, and parts of Broward. If the website, the profile, and the directories describe that area differently, an AI has no clear answer to “who serves my city.”
- Many local businesses are service area businesses. Without a public street address, the website and profile carry more of the location signal. State the service area explicitly and mark it up with
areaServedschema. - Same-name businesses are common. Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade all have businesses that share names across towns. An AI that confuses two of them can send a customer to the wrong one.
- Seasonal and tourist demand pulls in directories. For restaurants, bars, and hospitality, review and booking platforms are likely to supply part of the answer. Check which ones your category actually draws from.
What we do about it
We run local AI visibility as an extension of local SEO, not a replacement for it. In practice:
- Set the canonical facts first. Name, services, service area, hours, and the one distinctive fact about the business live in one source of truth. Every other listing copies from it.
- Make the website the clearest source. Put services, coverage area, and pricing scope in plain sentences near the top of each page. City pages must read as genuinely distinct, not one template with the city name swapped.
- Keep the Google Business Profile in sync. Categories, services, and posts match the website. When a fact changes, change it everywhere on the same day.
- Build third-party corroboration. Reviews, directories, local press, and chamber or association listings give an AI independent evidence. Audit how those sources describe you, not only whether the phone number matches.
- Measure with repetition. Run a set of customer prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and AI Overviews, repeat them, and aggregate the results. Log which URLs get cited.
One routing rule saves money. If AI platforms rarely find a business but describe it accurately when asked directly, that is a trust problem. More pages will not fix it. Independent third-party evidence will.
What no agency can promise
No business can force ChatGPT or Google to recommend it. Citation is not placement, and the same prompt can return different businesses an hour later. What a business can control is whether its information is clear, current, consistent, and supported by sources other than itself.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Google Maps ranking mean AI platforms will recommend my business? No. In BrightLocal’s data, Maps mentioned a tracked business in 66% of searches, while the AI surfaces did so in 32% to 38%.
Should I stop investing in my website because AI answers questions directly? No. Business websites were the largest cited source in the study, at about 42% of citations.
How often should a South Florida business check its AI visibility? Monthly is a sensible cadence, with a baseline at the start. Because results vary run to run, a single check tells you very little.
Where do I start? With an AI Visibility Audit. It tests how ChatGPT and Google’s AI products describe your business today, shows which sources they cite, and lists what to fix first.
iLocal SEO is a local SEO agency based in West Palm Beach, serving businesses across South Florida.
SOURCES:
BrightLocal Study — https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-ai-visibility-study/
BrightLocal AI Sources — https://www.brightlocal.com/resources/ai-directory-sources/
Local AI Visibility is Not Maps — https://justinherring.substack.com/p/local-ai-visibility-is-not-maps
