We asked ChatGPT, Google and Perplexity who to call in our area. They named different businesses

Ask three AI services the same question about your trade and your suburb, and you can get three different lists. That’s what happened when we tried it.

On 2 October 2026 we put six questions a customer might ask to ChatGPT, Google and Perplexity, logged out, in a fresh chat or search each time.1 Four were about local trades: a plumber in Penrith, a builder in the Blue Mountains, an accountant in Parramatta and a cafe in Katoomba. Here’s what came back, and what I’d do about it.

Do ChatGPT, Google and Perplexity recommend the same businesses?

Not in our test. The answers named businesses, not just tips on choosing one. But across the four trade questions, one business was named by all three services: a cafe.

The detail, counted from our record:1

1. The plumber. ChatGPT named seven, Google’s AI Overview five and Perplexity three. ChatGPT and Google shared four names. Perplexity’s three appeared in neither.
2. The builder. ChatGPT named five, Google four and Perplexity two. ChatGPT and Google shared two. Perplexity’s two appeared in neither.
3. The accountant. ChatGPT named five, Google three and Perplexity one. ChatGPT and Perplexity shared that one. Google’s three appeared in neither.
4. The cafe. One cafe was named by all three. Google showed no AI Overview for this question, so we asked its AI Mode, the chat-style version of Google search.

Google says as much about its own two AI features: “AI Mode and AI Overviews may use different models and techniques, so the set of responses and links they show will vary”.2 If two AI tools from one company can differ, there’s no reason to expect three companies to agree.

Why did they name different businesses?

None of them said. No answer explained its choice beyond star ratings or a source link.1 None of the companies publishes how it picks a business either; my post on showing up in AI search covers what they do publish.

What we could see was where the answers pointed: review and directory sites, a travel magazine, government pages and the businesses’ own websites, in a different mix for each service. That may be part of why the lists differ, but it’s a guess. The test can’t show that any source caused a business to be named.

Two answers also strayed from the place asked about. Asked about an accountant in Parramatta, Google’s AI Overview showed three firms whose cards gave addresses outside Parramatta. One of Perplexity’s ten links for the Penrith plumber was a page about Penrith in England.1

What does this mean for your business?

Three things, in my view.

There’s no single AI list to be top of. If someone offers to get you “ranked in AI”, ask them: which AI assistant, asked what, from where, on which day? In our test, the answer changed with the service.

That includes our own trade. Asked who can help a small business in Western Sydney get set up with AI, ChatGPT and Google named different businesses, and we weren’t in either answer.1

Checking one isn’t checking them all. What ChatGPT said told us nothing about what Perplexity would say, and Google’s AI answer was different again.

A signed-in customer may see something else. When ChatGPT stopped one answer with a login prompt, it offered “advice and recommendations tailored to you” for signing in.1 Every answer we recorded was logged out.

What should you do about it?

1. Ask them yourself. Put the question your customer would type, with your trade and suburb, to ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini, such as “Who’s a good electrician in Penrith?”. Use a fresh chat each time.
2. Write it down. Who each one named, which sources it listed, and the date. A screenshot does the job.
3. Open the sources it lists. If an answer for your trade points to a directory or review site, check whether you’re on it and whether your details there are right. Nobody can say that gets you named, but a customer can find you there, and a wrong number is a lost call.
4. Say where you work, in words, on your website. Your address, the suburbs you cover and what you do. In our test, one answer to a Parramatta question showed firms with addresses in other suburbs, so don’t leave your area for an AI assistant to guess.
5. Ask again next month. One answer on one day tells you very little. Several months of answers tell you more.

What can’t our test tell you?

Each question was asked once per service, from one browser, on one day, logged out.1 The same question an hour later, or on another phone, may name different businesses.

Copilot wanted a sign-in before it would answer, so it isn’t in the test. Claude and Gemini weren’t in scope.

Perplexity wanted a sign-up after four questions. The test doesn’t show whether being named brings calls, and the wording of the questions was ours.

Quick answers

Can anyone make sure ChatGPT names my business? No. None of the companies behind the AI assistants publishes how it chooses a business, so nobody can promise it, me included.

If I’m named by one AI assistant, am I named by the others? Not in our test. The three services named different businesses for the same question.

When should I check again? I’d ask monthly, with the same question each time, so one month’s answers can be set beside the last.

Want it done for you?

On our menu this is the card Ask the AI about you: we ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot about you and your rivals, monthly. You see exactly what they say, and watch it change.

Start with one thing, or a bundle. If yours is different, we scope it.

Book a free hour, and bring the question your customers ask.