How Tampa Bay businesses show up in AI search
We asked ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode 12 questions a local buyer would ask, twice each, and compared the answers with Google Maps. 96 answers, 320 businesses named, every number traceable to the raw responses.
Key findings
ChatGPT gave a different list every time
We asked ChatGPT each question twice, seconds apart. On average the two answers shared 11% of the businesses they named, and on 6 of the 12 questions they shared none. Perplexity was the most repeatable at 65%.
The engines rarely agree
Across 12 questions the four engines named 320 distinct businesses. 257 of them were named by only one engine. Only 4 questions produced even one business that all four engines named.
A top-3 Google Maps spot does not carry over
Ten of the searches showed a Google local 3-pack, 30 businesses in all. Across both runs ChatGPT named 8 of them and Perplexity 5. Google's own AI Mode named 19.
ChatGPT leans on directories
Every answer linked at least one source. Of the domains ChatGPT linked, 75% were directories, review sites and marketplaces such as Angi, Thumbtack, Healthgrades and Super Lawyers. Business websites were 15%.
AI Overviews barely appear on these searches
A normal Google search for the same 12 questions showed an AI Overview once, for brunch in Tampa. Google AI Mode, which a searcher has to open, answered all 24 times we asked.
A website is table stakes, not the edge
We matched 101 of the named businesses to a Google Maps listing. 100 listed a website and one listed a Facebook page. 96 of those sites loaded and the other 4 answered but blocked our automated check.
The data, engine by engine
Each engine answered all 12 questions twice: 24 answers per engine.
Same question, same engine, asked twice
Average overlap between the two runs: businesses named in both, divided by all businesses named in either.
Google local 3-pack businesses named
Of the 30 businesses in the 3-pack across 10 searches, how many each engine named in either run.
Businesses named per answer
Average count of distinct businesses in one answer. Gemini's longest answer named 33.
Named businesses found in Google Maps top 20
Average share of the businesses in an answer that we could match to the top 20 Google Maps results for the same search.
What each engine linked as its sources
Share of linked domains by type, each domain counted once per answer. 177 distinct domains in total.
- Directories, review sites, marketplaces
- Business websites and booking pages
- Best-of articles, local media, blogs
- Google Maps and Business Profile links
- Reddit and social
Most linked domains
Number of the 96 answers that linked each domain at least once.
Businesses named by only one engine
Per question: distinct businesses named across all engines and runs, and how many of them only one engine named.
What local businesses can do about it
Nobody controls what an assistant says. These steps follow from what the answers in this study actually read and linked.
- 1
Check the questions yourself, more than once
Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode the question your buyers ask, in the words they use, with your city in it. Ask again later. One answer is a sample, not a verdict, because the lists move from run to run.
- 2
Fix the directories the answers actually read
The linked sources in your category tell you where to be listed. For home services that meant Angi, Thumbtack and HomeAdvisor; for dentists and dermatologists, Healthgrades, Opencare and WebMD; for lawyers, Super Lawyers, Justia and Avvo; for charters, FishingBooker. Claim the profile, match your name, address and phone to your Google profile, and earn reviews there.
- 3
Get into the local best-of lists
Gemini linked local roundups and magazines like Tampa Magazines, WTSP and neighborhood food blogs. Those lists are written by people you can reach. A pitch with something true and useful to say beats a paid placement nobody reads.
- 4
Keep your Google Business Profile complete
Google AI Mode named local 3-pack businesses more than any other engine and linked Google Maps listings in almost half its sources. Categories, hours, services, photos and recent reviews all feed it.
- 5
Give your own site plain, quotable facts
Perplexity and Gemini linked business websites for about half their sources. Pages that state who you serve, where, what you charge from and what makes you different are easier for a model to quote than a slogan.
- 6
Measure it on a schedule
Because answers change between runs, track the share of answers that name you over weeks, not a single screenshot. Our tool Cited runs this check across the engines, or you can do it by hand with a spreadsheet.
If you want this measured and worked on for you, that is our generative engine optimization service. If you would rather check it yourself, run a free scan on Cited.
Methodology
All queries ran on September 28, 2026 between 5:43 and 5:48 PM Eastern, through DataForSEO's AI Optimization and SERP APIs. Each AI engine got each question twice, as separate requests with no conversation history. Total cost was $2.26: DataForSEO API calls including the passed-through model cost, plus the name extraction step.
Engines
- ChatGPT: gpt-5.4-mini, web search on.
- Perplexity: sonar-pro.
- Gemini: gemini-2.5-flash, Google Search grounding on.
- Google AI Mode: google.com AI Mode, desktop, city-level location.
- Google search: standard results for each question with the same location, checked for an AI Overview and a local 3-pack, plus the Google Maps top 20.
The exact questions
| # | Question, as sent | Vertical | Google location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | best plumber in St. Petersburg FL | Home services | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 02 | best AC repair company in Tampa FL | Home services | Tampa, Florida |
| 03 | best dentist in St. Petersburg FL | Dental and medical | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 04 | best dermatologist in Tampa FL | Dental and medical | Tampa, Florida |
| 05 | best real estate agent in St. Petersburg FL | Real estate | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 06 | best property management company in Tampa FL | Real estate | Tampa, Florida |
| 07 | best seafood restaurant in St. Petersburg FL | Restaurants | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 08 | best brunch spot in Tampa FL | Restaurants | Tampa, Florida |
| 09 | best fishing charter in St. Petersburg FL | Marine and charter | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 10 | best boat rental in Tampa FL | Marine and charter | Tampa, Florida |
| 11 | best personal injury lawyer in Tampa FL | Legal and insurance | Tampa, Florida |
| 12 | best insurance agency in St. Petersburg FL | Legal and insurance | St. Petersburg, Florida |
Sample size and limits
- Twelve questions, four engines and two runs each is 96 answers. That is a snapshot of one day, not a census of Tampa Bay.
- ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini were queried through their APIs via DataForSEO with web search on. The consumer apps can use different models, memory and location, and may answer differently.
- The API calls carry no location setting, so the city was in the question. Google searches used a city-level location (St. Petersburg or Tampa, Florida), desktop, English.
- Business names were pulled from each answer by a language model (Claude Haiku 4.5) and kept only if the name appears word for word in the answer. Names were then grouped with a conservative matching rule, so two spellings of one business can occasionally count as two.
- Peer-to-peer rental marketplaces (Getmyboat, Boatsetter) were excluded from business counts. National brands such as State Farm or Morgan & Morgan were counted when an answer named them.
- Website checks cover only the 101 named businesses we could match to a Google Maps top 20 listing for the same search. For the other 219 we did not look up a website, so we make no claim about them.
- Two searches (plumbers in St. Petersburg, seafood in St. Petersburg) showed no local 3-pack on the day, so 3-pack figures cover 10 searches.
- Source categories were assigned by hand from each domain and its link titles. The full list is in the domains CSV.
Data
Per-answer aggregate data (CSV): one row per question, engine and run with the counts behind every chart. Linked domains (CSV): every domain the answers linked, its category and how many answers linked it. Free to reuse with a link to this page. Businesses are named on this page only as the AI answers named them, and appearing or not appearing says nothing about the quality of anyone's work.
Want to know what AI says about your business?
Book a free call and we will run your buyers' questions across the engines with you, or start with a free scan on Cited.
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