Ask ChatGPT for the best plumber, dentist or restaurant in a US city and 95.1% of the time it answers with its built-in list of local business cards, holding about 12 businesses. Gemini, asked the same questions, showed no such list.
Analysis of 3,160 ChatGPT answers to local questions in 79 US cities · answers from ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.95.1% of ChatGPT answers to "best [service] in [city]" questions include a list of local business cards.
- 2.ChatGPT's local business card list holds 11.8 businesses on average, with a median of 12 and a range of 2 to 16.
- 3.ChatGPT lists the most businesses for restaurant questions, 15.6 on average, and the fewest for electricians, 9.5.
- 4.Expertise.com is cited in 28.4% of ChatGPT's local answers, followed by Birdeye review pages (24.5%) and Angi (21%).
- 5.Gemini returned business cards in 0 of its answers to the same local questions, linking Google Maps places in its text instead.
Summary
A family moves to Denver and asks ChatGPT for the best dentist in town. The answer is not a paragraph. It is a list of a dozen practices, each on its own card. The family picks two to call without opening Google.
That matters to every local service business. Being on that list, and near the top of it, now works like being in Google's map pack, the three businesses Google shows on its map above the search results. A business that is missing from ChatGPT's list is invisible to the customer who never leaves the chat.
ChatGPT answers local questions with its card list 95.1% of the time, across restaurants, trades, health care and professional services alike. The list holds about 12 businesses, and the sources ChatGPT cites next to it are mostly directories and review sites.
What we measured
On September 23, 2026 we asked ChatGPT, with web search on, for the best [service] in [city] for 20 local services, from plumbers and roofers to dentists and restaurants, in 79 US cities of every size. Each question was asked twice, for 3,160 answers. We asked Gemini the same questions for comparison.
A card list is ChatGPT's built-in format for local results: a set of business cards shown inside the answer, one per business, rather than names in the text. We checked whether each answer showed the card list, counted the businesses in it, and recorded the websites ChatGPT cited alongside it.
Almost every local answer gets a card list
For local questions, ChatGPT no longer writes a paragraph of suggestions. It shows a structured list of businesses in almost every answer: 95.9% in the first round of questions and 94.2% in the second. By service the rate ranges from 93.7% for auto repair shops, hair salons, moving companies and HVAC companies to 96.8% for plumbers, roofers and veterinarians, so the format is close to universal.
That makes ChatGPT a local directory in its own right. Gemini handles the same questions differently: it returned no card list in any answer, and instead linked individual Google Maps places within its text. The same customer question produces a Google-style business list on ChatGPT and a Google Maps link on Gemini.
Each list holds about a dozen businesses
The median list holds 12 businesses, and lists range from 2 to 16. That is four times the three businesses in Google's map pack, so more local businesses get a place in ChatGPT's answer, but the position within a list of 12 matters.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 3,160 ChatGPT answers to local questions in 79 US cities · answers from ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026
| Service | Answers with cards | Businesses per list |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | 94.9% | 15.6 |
| Gym | 95.6% | 14.8 |
| Dentist | 94.3% | 14.3 |
| Accountant | 94.9% | 13.3 |
| Veterinarian | 96.8% | 13 |
| Hair salon | 93.7% | 12.8 |
| Real estate agent | 94.3% | 12.1 |
| Moving company | 93.7% | 12 |
| Auto repair shop | 93.7% | 11.7 |
| HVAC company | 93.7% | 11.5 |
| Plumber | 96.8% | 11.2 |
| Roofer | 96.8% | 11 |
| Landscaper | 95.6% | 9.9 |
| Locksmith | 96.2% | 9.8 |
| Electrician | 94.9% | 9.5 |
Restaurants get the longest lists at 15.6 businesses, followed by gyms (14.8) and dentists (14.3), categories with many businesses in every city. Trades get the shortest: electricians 9.5, locksmiths 9.8 and landscapers 9.9. For a tradesperson, fewer slots means a harder fight for a place on the list.
Directories and review sites feed the lists
Alongside its cards, ChatGPT cites directory and review sites. Expertise.com appears in 28.4% of local answers, Birdeye review pages in 24.5%, Angi in 21% and Best Pros in Town in 17.2%. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) appears in 6.2%.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 3,160 ChatGPT answers to local questions in 79 US cities · answers from ChatGPT and Gemini, September 2026
These "best of" directories rank local businesses by city and service, which is exactly the question ChatGPT is answering. A business that appears in their city roundups gives ChatGPT a source to confirm it; one that is missing from them has fewer ways onto the list.
What this means for local businesses
Treat ChatGPT's card list like the map pack. It shows about 12 businesses, and the sources cited next to it are mostly directories and review sites. Check that your business is listed and accurate on Expertise.com, Birdeye, Angi, Best Pros in Town and the BBB, and ask happy customers to review you on the platforms that appear for your service and city.
Keep your details consistent. Use the same business name, address, phone number and categories everywhere, so the card ChatGPT builds matches your real business and links to the right website.
Then ask ChatGPT for the best of your service in your city and see where you land. Our local seo packages cover the listings and reviews that feed ChatGPT's local answers.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-local-business-cards">ChatGPT Returns a List of Business Cards for 95.1% of Local Questions - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). ChatGPT Returns a List of Business Cards for 95.1% of Local Questions. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-local-business-cards
ChatGPT Returns a List of Business Cards for 95.1% of Local Questions - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/chatgpt-local-business-cards
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