How dChatGPT find local businesses like yours?

When customers ask ChatGPT for a local plumber, accountant or carpenter — who does the AI choose? Here’s how local visibility in AI searches works, and how your SMV appears in the results. With specific data from SOCi, BrightLocal and the Relark.dk case study.

ChatGPT selects local businesses based on 17 data sources — not just Google Maps. Yet two out of three Danish SMV'er are overlooked when the AI recommends a hairdresser, plumber or accountant in your local area. BrightLocal’s 2026 survey shows that 45 per cent of Danes already use AI to find local services — and that figure is rising by 12 per cent every quarter.

Why does ChatGPT choose a local business other than yours?

Local AI visibility is your business’s visibility in results from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot when users search for local services in their area. In 2026, local AI visibility differs significantly from traditional local SEO. Whereas Google Maps alone used to determine whether you were found locally, AI models now draw on Trustpilot reviews, Krak listings, LinkedIn profiles, Wikipedia articles, news articles, the structure of your own website — and yes, also Google Business Profile, though often as a secondary source. At Geoa, we measure your visibility across all these sources in a single, comprehensive GEO-score.

64% of all AI responses about local businesses include data from Trustpilot (SOCi Local Visibility Index ’26), whilst only 22% draw directly on Google Business Profile. Your competitor may be lower down in the rankings on Google Maps, but more visible in AI — simply because they have a stronger profile on Trustpilot, Krak or LinkedIn.

How does the AI actually make its choices?

Each AI platform has its own method for finding local businesses:

• ChatGPT (OpenAI Search): Uses the Bing index as a basis, giving significant weight to Trustpilot and Wikipedia data.
• Perplexity: Runs live web searches, scanning Krak, Eniro, 118.dk, Trustpilot and your website in real time.
• Gemini (Google AIO): Draws primarily from the Google index and Google Business Profile.
• Claude (via Brave Search): Weights E-E-A-T signals — LinkedIn, CVR, and founding dates.

3 specific reasons why AI overlooks your local business

1. Your data is inconsistent across platforms

If your CVR number, address, telephone number or opening hours do not match across Krak, Eniro, 118.dk, Trustpilot, LinkedIn and your own website, the AI loses confidence in your identity. Businesses with consistent entity signals across 4 or more platforms are cited 2.8 times more often (The Digital Bloom ’25).

2. Your website is designed for people — not for AI

AI crawlers scan your website for structured responses. Princeton KDD ’24 shows that structural changes — such as adding schema markup and improving extractability — can increase the citation rate by up to 17.3 per cent.

3. You have no reviews — or too few

Trustpilot accounts for 14% of all AI citations in local searches. Businesses with an active Trustpilot profile are cited in 75.3% of relevant AI responses, whilst those without a profile are cited in less than 1% (SOCi '26).

AddonNordic: From overlooked to visible in 4 weeks

From 14% to 38% AI visibility — an improvement of 171%. Read the full case study: AddonNordic case study.

How can you get started today?

1. Check your data across platforms. Krak, Eniro, 118.dk, Trustpilot, LinkedIn — must be identical.
2. Create or update your Trustpilot profile. Ask 10–15 customers for reviews.
3. Optimise your website for AI. JSON-LD schema, BLUF on the homepage, clear pricing.