--- title: "Closed Businesses in AI Answers: 1 in 383 Picks Shut Down" url: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-closed-businesses description: "Closed businesses in AI answers: one in 383 ChatGPT and Gemini local picks with a Google profile is marked closed, and 13.5% have none. Read the study." lang: en --- Share Share on X: https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-recommends-closed-businesses&text=Closed%20for%20Business%3A%20One%20in%20383%20AI%20Local%20Recommendations%20Has%20Shut%20Down Share on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-recommends-closed-businesses Share on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-recommends-closed-businesses Share on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffdigital.com%2Fresources%2Fdata-studies%2Fai-recommends-closed-businesses&title=Closed%20for%20Business%3A%20One%20in%20383%20AI%20Local%20Recommendations%20Has%20Shut%20Down One in **383** local business recommendations from ChatGPT and Gemini that match a Google Business Profile is a business Google marks as closed. A bigger gap is matching: 1,350 of 10,000 recommended businesses have no Google profile at all, and 31% of the business names Gemini gives in its answer text match a Google Business Profile, against 94.8% of ChatGPT's picks. Analysis of 10,000 local businesses recommended by ChatGPT and Gemini in 79 US cities · ChatGPT and Gemini answers and Google Business Profiles, September 2026 ## Key Findings 1. 1. One in **383** AI local recommendations that match a Google Business Profile is a business Google marks as closed. Copy stat 2. 2. **1,350** of 10,000 local businesses recommended by ChatGPT and Gemini, 13.5%, return no Google Business Profile at all. Copy stat 3. 3. **31%** of the local business names Gemini gives in its answer text match a Google Business Profile when searched by name and city, against 94.8% of the local businesses ChatGPT recommends. Copy stat 4. 4. **14** AI-recommended local businesses are marked permanently closed on Google, one in every 602 verified recommendations, and 8 more are temporarily closed. Copy stat 5. 5. Moving companies make up **4** of the 11 closed businesses ChatGPT recommends, more than any other service. Copy stat ## Summary Imagine a homeowner who asks Gemini for a good electrician in town and gets three names. She searches the first one on Google Maps to check reviews and a phone number. Nothing comes up under that name. She tries the second, with the same result, and ends up calling whoever Google shows instead. That check is what most people do before they call a business an AI assistant recommends, and it is where AI local answers break down most often. A recommendation that cannot be found on Google cannot be verified, reviewed or contacted easily. For the business Gemini meant to recommend, the lead goes to someone else. One verified AI recommendation in **383** is a business Google marks as closed. Unmatched names are a bigger problem: across both assistants, 13.5% of recommended businesses have no Google profile at all, and 31% of Gemini's local business names match a Google Business Profile, against 94.8% of ChatGPT's. ## What we measured On September 23 and 24, 2026 we asked ChatGPT and Gemini for the best local businesses in 20 services, from plumbers and movers to hair salons and restaurants, across 79 US cities. We took 10,000 of the businesses they named, 8,338 from ChatGPT and 1,662 from Gemini, and searched for each one on Google Business Profiles using the name and the city or address the AI gave. ChatGPT's names come from the business cards in its answers; Gemini's were taken from its answer text. A Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows a business on Google Search and Maps, with its address, phone number, hours, reviews and status. A business counts as verified when a profile is found and its name matches the name the AI gave; 8,423 businesses were verified. A verified business counts as closed when Google marks it permanently or temporarily closed. ## Gemini's business names are harder to match on Google 31% of the local business names Gemini gives in its answer text match a Google Business Profile. ChatGPT's picks are easy to check: 94.8% of the businesses it names match a Google profile. ChatGPT shows local results as business cards with a name, address and phone number, drawn from map data, so its names line up with Google's listings. Gemini lists businesses in its answer text, where a name can be written in a shorter or different form than on the business's Google listing, and fewer than one in three of those names matches a Google profile. Matched a Google Business Profile by AI assistant ChatGPT 94.8% Gemini 31% Source: Suff Digital analysis of 10,000 local businesses recommended by ChatGPT and Gemini in 79 US cities · ChatGPT and Gemini answers and Google Business Profiles, September 2026 | AI assistant | Businesses looked up | Matched a Google Business Profile | | --- | --- | --- | | ChatGPT | 8,338 | 94.8% | | Gemini | 1,662 | 31% | For a searcher, an unmatched name means extra work: no reviews to read, no phone number to tap, no map pin. For a business, it means Gemini may be describing you under a name, spelling or location that does not match your Google listing, and the customer who goes looking finds a competitor instead. An assistant can only point people to you reliably when your name and details are the same everywhere it looks. ## One in seven AI business names has no Google profile Across both assistants, 1,350 of the 10,000 businesses returned no Google Business Profile at all, 13.5% of all recommendations, about one in seven. Another group returned a profile whose name did not match: 8,650 lookups found a profile, but 8,423 matched by name. Businesses by result of Google lookup Recommended businesses looked up 10,000 A Google profile found 8,650 Profile name matches the AI's name 8,423 No Google profile found 1,350 Marked permanently closed 14 Marked temporarily closed 8 That makes unfindable names a far bigger source of bad recommendations than closed businesses: 1,350 names with no profile against 22 closed businesses. The weak point in AI local answers is not stale data about businesses that shut down; it is names that do not connect to any listing a customer can check. ## One verified AI pick in 383 is closed One AI local recommendation in 383 points to a business Google marks as closed. Of the 8,423 verified businesses, 22 were closed: 14 permanently and 8 temporarily. Permanently closed businesses alone work out to one recommendation in 602. That rate is low. ChatGPT, which made most of the recommendations, shows local results as business cards tied to map listings, and those listings carry a business's open or closed status. But for the customer who drives to a shut storefront or calls a disconnected number, one bad pick is enough to stop trusting the answer. ## Moving companies lead the closures Among the 11 closed businesses ChatGPT recommended, 4 were moving companies, more than any other service. The rest were spread across plumbers, a locksmith, a landscaper, an auto repair shop, a hair salon and a restaurant. Movers are a service customers often book weeks ahead, so a closed recommendation costs more: a customer can plan a move around a company that no longer operates and find out only when it does not answer. ## What this means for local businesses and consumers Make your business easy for AI to match. Use exactly the same business name, address and phone number on your Google Business Profile, your website and every directory listing, and avoid variations such as a shortened name on one site and a legal name on another. Then ask Gemini and ChatGPT to recommend businesses in your service and city, and check that the name they give matches your Google listing. If you close or pause a location, update your Google Business Profile right away, so AI assistants that read map data stop naming you. If you run several locations, check each one; a closed location with an active listing keeps sending customers to an empty storefront. For consumers, the fix is simple: look up any AI-recommended business on Google Maps before you call or book. Suff Digital's local seo packages (https://www.suffdigital.com/seo/local-seo-services) keep your name, address and phone number consistent across the listings AI assistants rely on. ## Embed this research Paste this on your site to embed the charts. It links back to the source automatically.

Source: Closed for Business: One in 383 AI Local Recommendations Has Shut Down - Suff Digital

## Cite this study APA Suff Digital. (2026). Closed for Business: One in 383 AI Local Recommendations Has Shut Down. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-closed-businesses Plain link Closed for Business: One in 383 AI Local Recommendations Has Shut Down - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-closed-businesses ## Frequently asked questions ### Can the businesses Gemini recommends be found on Google? ### How often does AI recommend a closed business? ### How many AI-recommended businesses are permanently closed? ### Can all AI-recommended businesses be found on Google? ### Which closed businesses does ChatGPT recommend most? ## Related studies - AI SEO When AI Says a Business Is Open 24/7, It's Wrong 14.4% of the Time: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-business-hours-wrong - AI SEO AI Recommends a Business Outside the City You Asked About 17.4% of the Time: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-business-wrong-city - AI SEO Only 37.3% of ChatGPT's Local Picks for Cleveland Are Inside the City, vs 93.8% in San Antonio: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/which-city-ai-knows-best - AI SEO 88.4% of the Local Businesses ChatGPT Recommends Aren't in Google's Map Pack: https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-picks-vs-google-map-pack ## Structured data ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization", "name": "Suff Digital", "alternateName": "Suff Digital Marketing", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "contentUrl": "https://www.suffdigital.com/logo.png", "caption": "Suff Digital" }, "image": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#logo" }, "description": "Suff Digital is a full-stack digital marketing agency that turns websites into predictable revenue engines, SEO, paid media, content, CRO, and web design built around revenue, not vanity metrics.", "slogan": "Digital marketing built for what's next.", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "foundingDate": "2022", "founder": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Suffoletto", "jobTitle": "Founder & CEO" }, "contactPoint": [ { "@type": "ContactPoint", "telephone": "+1-629-236-0099", "email": "hello@suffdigital.com", "contactType": "sales", "areaServed": "US", "availableLanguage": [ "en" ] } ], "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "addressLocality": "Nashville", "addressRegion": "TN", "postalCode": "37219", "addressCountry": "US" }, "areaServed": { "@type": "Country", "name": "United States" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/suff-digital/", "https://www.instagram.com/suffdigital/", "https://www.youtube.com/@suffdigitalmarketing", "https://www.tiktok.com/@suffdigital" ], "knowsAbout": [ "Search Engine Optimization", "Pay-Per-Click Advertising", "Paid Social Advertising", "Conversion Rate Optimization", "Web Design", "Digital PR", "Link Building", "Website Migration", "Website Maintenance and Support", "Technical SEO", "Local SEO", "AI Search Optimization" ], "hasOfferCatalog": { "@type": "OfferCatalog", "name": "Suff Digital Services", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/ppc" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Paid Social Advertising", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/paid-social" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/cro" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Web Design", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/web-design" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Digital PR & Link Building", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/digital-pr" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Migration", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-migration" } }, { "@type": "Offer", "itemOffered": { "@type": "Service", "name": "Website Maintenance & Support", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/services/website-maintenance" } } ] } }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#website", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/", "name": "Suff Digital", "inLanguage": "en-US", "publisher": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Article", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-closed-businesses#article", "headline": "Closed for Business: One in 383 AI Local Recommendations Has Shut Down", "description": "One in 383 local business recommendations from ChatGPT and Gemini that match a Google Business Profile is a business Google marks as closed. 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A bigger gap is matching: 1,350 of 10,000 recommended businesses have no Google profile at all, and 31% of the business names Gemini gives in its answer text match a Google Business Profile, against 94.8% of ChatGPT's picks.", "url": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-closed-businesses", "creator": { "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/#organization" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-24", "dateModified": "2026-09-24", "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "isAccessibleForFree": true, "measurementTechnique": "ChatGPT and Gemini answers; Google Business Profiles" }, { "@type": "FAQPage", "@id": "https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/ai-recommends-closed-businesses#faq", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can the businesses Gemini recommends be found on Google?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Often not by the name it gives. 31% of the local business names Gemini gives in its answer text match a Google Business Profile when searched by name and city, against 94.8% of the local businesses ChatGPT recommends (September 2026)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How often does AI recommend a closed business?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Rarely. One in 383 AI local recommendations that match a Google Business Profile is a business Google marks as closed, 22 businesses in all." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How many AI-recommended businesses are permanently closed?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "14 AI-recommended local businesses are marked permanently closed on Google, one in every 602 verified recommendations, and 8 more are temporarily closed." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can all AI-recommended businesses be found on Google?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. 1,350 of 10,000 local businesses recommended by ChatGPT and Gemini, 13.5%, return no Google Business Profile at all." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Which closed businesses does ChatGPT recommend most?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Moving companies, which make up 4 of the 11 closed local businesses ChatGPT recommends." } } ] } ] } ] ```