How Does ChatGPT Choose Which Local Businesses to Recommend? We Tested It in Western Kentucky

We asked ChatGPT to recommend HVAC companies, plumbers, roofers, electricians, and AI trainers in Murray and Paducah. Here is what the businesses that showed up had in common, and what that means for yours.

Short answer: In our tests, ChatGPT recommended local businesses that had complete, consistent listings (name, address, phone, website), visible star ratings and review counts on Google and review sites, and websites that stated plain facts like "24/7 emergency service" or "locally owned and insured." Directories and review sites were the most common sources, but several businesses were cited directly from their own websites.

How We Ran the Test

We asked ChatGPT the kinds of questions real customers ask, one per fresh chat, with no account history to influence the answers:

• "Who is a good HVAC company in Murray, Kentucky?" (asked twice)
• "I need a plumber in Paducah, KY. Who should I call?"
• "Recommend a roofing contractor near Murray, Kentucky."
• "Who's a reliable electrician in Paducah, Kentucky?"
• "Who offers AI training for businesses in western Kentucky?"
• Two more questions about our own other service categories

We're not naming the local contractors that appeared. This isn't a ranking. It's a look at the patterns.

What We Saw

1. Every local trade question returned a short list with a map

Each trade question returned three or four businesses, a map, star ratings, and phone numbers. ChatGPT then picked a "first call" and explained why. Being in that short list is the whole game. There's no page two.

2. Listings and review sites did most of the work

The cited sources were mostly Google business listings and third-party review and directory sites. Ratings and review counts appeared next to nearly every business. If your listings are incomplete or inconsistent, you're starting behind.

3. Your own website can be the source

This was the most useful finding. For the roofing question, the first business was described using facts taken directly from its own website: its review rating and count, that it was locally owned, and that it was insured. For the plumbing question, ChatGPT cited a company's own site to say it offered 24/7 emergency service. Clear, specific statements on your website get repeated.

4. You don't need hundreds of reviews

Several recommended businesses had fewer than 25 reviews. A company with nearly 200 reviews in a nearby town ranked below smaller companies located in the city we asked about. Location match and a solid rating mattered as much as volume.

5. Results were fairly stable

When we asked the same HVAC question twice, the same two companies led both times, in the same order. The second answer added a fourth company and more detail.

6. Specific beats general

For "AI training for businesses in western Kentucky," ChatGPT recommended Cited Digital first and pulled our service description and published pricing straight from our AI training page. For broader statewide questions about some of our other services, the answers leaned toward larger markets. The lesson for us and for you: be specific about what you do and where you do it, on your website and everywhere else.

What to Do With This

1. Fix your listings first. Same name, address, and phone everywhere: Google, Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, and industry directories.
2. Ask for reviews steadily. A steady trickle beats a one-time push.
3. State facts plainly on your website. Service area by city, hours, emergency availability, licensing and insurance, years in business, review rating. Put them in text, not just images.
4. Add structured data. Schema markup tells AI tools exactly what you are. Our free schema generator builds it for you.
5. Publish an llms.txt file. A plain-language summary of your business for AI crawlers. Use our free llms.txt builder.

Check Where You Stand

Our free AEO Score scan takes about a minute and shows how ready your website is to be cited by AI tools. If you want the full picture and a prioritized fix list, the AEO Score Report is $97. New to the topic? Start with what AEO is.

How does ChatGPT decide which local businesses to recommend?

In our western Kentucky tests, ChatGPT favored businesses with complete and consistent listings, visible ratings and review counts, a location that matched the city in the question, and websites that plainly stated facts like service hours, emergency availability, and insurance.

Do I need hundreds of reviews to show up in ChatGPT?

No. Several businesses ChatGPT recommended in our tests had fewer than 25 reviews. Being located in the city the customer asked about and having a solid rating mattered as much as review volume.

Can my own website get my business recommended by ChatGPT?

Yes. In our tests ChatGPT quoted facts directly from business websites, such as 24/7 emergency service, review ratings, and being locally owned and insured. Clear, specific text on your site gets repeated.