California AI Visibility Index
We asked ChatGPT and Perplexity the same question a customer would ask, "best dentist in Fresno, CA," for 4 industries in 5 California cities. That produced 40 AI answers naming 198 local businesses. The two tools agreed on only 24% of the businesses they recommended. Reviews, directory listings and clearly written websites decided who got named.
Clients kept asking me the same question: “Does ChatGPT recommend my business?” I didn’t have a good answer, so I tested it myself across five California cities. I expected ChatGPT and Perplexity to mostly agree. They didn’t, and that changed how I think about local marketing.
Ravinder Cheema, Marketing Specialist, Clicks Dynasty
How often do ChatGPT and Perplexity agree?
Businesses that appeared in both tools' top 5, out of all businesses Perplexity named in that city.
Who does AI recommend in your city?
Pick a city and an industry to see both AI answers side by side. Businesses named by both tools are highlighted.
Is your business in the index?
Search all 198 mentions by business name.
What did AI lean on most for dentists and plumbers?
Choose an answer to see what the data shows.
How AI picks local businesses in California
1. The two AI tools mostly disagree
Only about 1 in 4 businesses in a Perplexity top 5 also appeared in ChatGPT's top 5 for the same search. Being visible in one tool does not mean you are visible in the other.
2. Reviews are the strongest signal
Dentist and plumber answers were ordered almost exactly by rating and review count.
3. Directories decide which lawyers get named
Most lawyer picks came from Super Lawyers, Avvo, Justia and Best Law Firms profiles, not from the firms' own websites. In Fresno, Perplexity's first four picks all came from Super Lawyers.
4. Specific, provable facts get repeated
AI answers quoted exact claims from business websites.
5. Clear websites win when reviews are thin
Los Angeles landscapers were chosen for plainly stated specialties: design-build, drought-tolerant yards and the neighborhoods they serve. Three of them appeared in both tools.
6. Small sources can get you in
Reddit threads, a Yahoo Local "best of" roundup, Thumbtack and review widgets such as Birdeye, Yably and Demandforce all placed businesses into answers. A single roundup article decided Perplexity's #1 plumber in San Diego.
7. Same AI, different winners
Perplexity signed out named Carlson Dentistry, Capital Dental Group and Signature Smile for Bakersfield. Signed in, it named Salin Dentistry, Smyle Dental and Santa Rita Dental.
8. Vague questions get no business names
"Best lawyer in Bakersfield, CA" returned directories only, with no firms named. AI needs a specific service before it recommends a business.
How to get recommended by AI in your industry
How we collected the data
- Date
- September 26, 2026, one session
- Tools
- Perplexity (signed in, default search) and ChatGPT (signed in, web search on)
- Prompt
best {industry} in {city}, CA, one new chat per prompt- Ranking
- Order in which the AI named each business. Top 5 recorded.
- Ratings
- As quoted by the AI. We did not verify them, and tools sometimes disagree.
- Limits
- One run per prompt. Answers change by account, location and date. This is a snapshot of what AI said, not a ranking or endorsement.
How this was done: Ravinder Cheema designed the study and chose the cities, industries and prompt. The 40 answers were collected on his own ChatGPT and Perplexity accounts with AI-assisted browser tools, then recorded in a spreadsheet and reviewed by him.
Download the raw data (Excel, 198 rows)
Sources the AI tools cited include Super Lawyers, Avvo, Justia, Yelp, Healthgrades and ConsumerAffairs.
Ravinder Cheema
Marketing Specialist at Clicks Dynasty, Bakersfield, California
Ravinder led this study and works on AI search visibility for local businesses at Clicks Dynasty.
Does AI recommend your business?
Tell us your business and city. We'll run the same test for you and show where you appear, and where your competitors do.
© 2026 Clicks Dynasty · California AI Visibility Index, Edition 1, by Ravinder Cheema. Business names are reported as they appeared in AI answers and do not imply endorsement.