Each AI assistant takes local business facts from different places. Google's AI Overviews, AI Mode, Ask Maps and Gemini mostly use your Google Business Profile and Google Maps data. ChatGPT mostly uses Yelp, Bing and business websites. Secondary sources say Perplexity uses a lot of Yelp data. Which listing you fix first depends on the assistant your customers use.
Which sources does each AI assistant use?
As of October 2026:
| Assistant | Main local sources | Evidence | What an owner controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google AI Overviews | Main local sourcesGoogle Business Profile (67% of citations), business websites | EvidenceBrightLocal, Aug 2026; Google AI features doc | What an owner controlsProfile fields, reviews, website text |
| Google AI Mode | Main local sourcesGoogle Business Profile (53% of citations), plus the widest range of other sources | EvidenceBrightLocal; Google doc (AI Mode uses "query fan-out" across subtopics and sources) | What an owner controlsProfile, website, directories |
| Ask Maps (Google Maps) | Main local sources300M+ places and reviews from more than 500 million contributors | EvidenceGoogle blog, 12 Mar 2026 | What an owner controlsProfile, reviews, photos |
| Gemini app | Main local sourcesGoogle Maps data | EvidenceSOCi | What an owner controlsProfile |
| ChatGPT | Main local sourcesYelp (about 60% of citations), Bing Places, business websites, Mapbox for maps; Google Business Profile only about 0.4% | EvidenceBrightLocal; Local Falcon, 5 Nov 2025; Search Engine Land | What an owner controlsWebsite, Bing Places, Yelp and other directories |
| Perplexity | Main local sourcesMostly Yelp, according to secondary sources | EvidenceNot confirmed by Perplexity | What an owner controlsWebsite, Yelp and other directories |
Claude is not in the table because no study of its local sources has been published yet.
For Google's own assistants, work on your Google Business Profile is also work on your AI answers. For ChatGPT it barely counts. BrightLocal (26 Aug 2026) found the profile was 67% of citations in AI Overviews and 53% in AI Mode, but about 0.4% in ChatGPT, where Yelp was about 60% (BrightLocal).
Gemini reads Google Maps directly, so its facts match your profile. SOCi measured business info accuracy at 100% on Gemini and 68% on ChatGPT and Perplexity (SOCi). When ChatGPT gets your facts wrong, the cause is usually an old directory listing or website, not Google.
How much do these assistants actually recommend?
Very little, compared with the Google map results. SOCi's 2026 Local Visibility Index looked at about 350,000 locations (SOCi):
- Local 3-pack on Google: 35.9% of locations appeared
- Gemini: about 11%
- Perplexity: 7.4%
- ChatGPT: 1.2%
SOCi calls AI search "30 times more selective."
Ratings seem to matter too. Places that ChatGPT recommended averaged 4.3 stars. SOCi says a business with about 3.4 stars and a review reply rate under 5% is "effectively invisible."
SOCi sells local marketing software, so treat these numbers as a signal. They show a correlation, not a rule.
Do the studies agree?
They disagree on the exact shares. An earlier BrightLocal study of ChatGPT put business websites at 58% of local sources, mentions at 27% and directories at 15% (BrightLocal). Local Falcon says ChatGPT does not use Google Business Profile directly (Local Falcon).
They agree on the direction:
- Google's AI uses your Google Business Profile.
- ChatGPT uses the web, Bing and directories.
- Your website matters on every assistant. In BrightLocal's August 2026 study, about 93% of cited domains were business websites (BrightLocal).
All of these studies sampled businesses in the US, UK and Australia. No study covers India or Southeast Asia yet.
What does this mean for an owner in India or Southeast Asia?
Start with your Google profile. Google's products lead local search in these markets, mostly through Maps. Ask Maps, which uses review text in a Gemini answer, has been live in India since 12 March 2026 (Google blog) and in Indonesia since 6 August 2026 (Google Indonesia blog).
Yelp has few listings in these markets, so ChatGPT likely falls back to business websites and local directories. That is an inference; no study has measured it yet. The self-test in the ChatGPT guide shows which sources it uses for your business.
Keep one set of facts everywhere. Use the same name, phone number and hours on your Google profile, your website and every directory.
What does Google say about AI Overviews and AI Mode?
Google says: "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, nor other special optimizations necessary" (Google AI features doc).
Its best practices include:
- Useful text content on your pages
- Structured data that matches the visible text
- "Checking that your Merchant Center and Business Profile information is up-to-date"
Search Console counts traffic from AI features in the Performance report (Web). Google also claims that clicks from AI Overview results pages are "higher quality," because those visitors spend more time on the site.
Worked example (illustrative)
Kopi & Co is a cafe in Kemang, Jakarta. The owner asks "best cafe for working in Kemang" in Gemini, ChatGPT and Google AI Mode.
- Gemini names Kopi & Co with the correct hours. It took them from Maps.
- AI Mode names Kopi & Co and cites its Google reviews that mention wifi and sockets.
- ChatGPT does not name it. It cites a 2023 blog listicle and a delivery app listing with the old address.
The Google profile is doing its job. For ChatGPT, the owner needs to fix the website and the delivery app listing. The ChatGPT checklist has the steps.
FAQ
- Does ChatGPT use Google Maps?
- Rarely. Studies found it cites Google Business Profile in about 0.4% of local answers (BrightLocal). It uses Mapbox for maps and Bing, Yelp and websites for listings (Local Falcon).
- Where does Gemini get business info?
- From Google Maps data (SOCi).
- Can I control what AI Overviews say about my business?
- Partly. Keep your Google profile and website accurate. Google says no special optimization exists, and you can't edit the answer itself.
- Which fields of my Google profile feed AI Mode?
- Google has not published this. Any list you see is a guess.
- Is Perplexity using Yelp?
- Secondary sources say yes. Perplexity has not confirmed it.
Keeping Google's side of the table current
Google's side of the table needs regular upkeep: profile fields, review replies, photos and posts. Your website also has to carry the same business facts. Reach by Locus scores your profile out of 100 on the dashboard home and lists what's missing. Presence fixes the gaps, Reviews drafts your replies, and Website keeps your business facts on your own site. Reach does not manage Yelp, Bing Places, Foursquare or other directories.
See what Google's AI can read about your business: get your free profile score.