AI tools returned at least one false fact about 64% of UK high street retailers in a vendor-run test, according to figures Searchable shared with Retail Focus. The most common error was placing businesses in the wrong postcode.
These tests point to something many marketing teams aren’t tracking. When AI systems such as ChatGPT or Google’s AI Mode answer questions about one of your locations, there’s no way to know what they’re saying about your business unless you manually check. They could be confidently claiming a business is closed, listing services they don’t offer, or giving a wrong address.
We’ve covered how to earn visibility in AI search, including Dan Taylor’s work on tracking AI prompts. This piece covers the other half of the problem. It looks at what AI is already telling people about your locations and how to find out before a customer does.
From Ranked To Described
Traditional local search gives customers multiple options to compare, like a map pack, reviews, your website, or a competitor’s. Then, customers make their choice. AI search combines this process into a single synthesized answer that fully describes a business before the customer even visits the website or business profile.
Being described isn’t the same as being ranked; rankings can change, and descriptions might not always be accurate. Also, this visibility varies depending on the type of query.
Whitespark’s analysis found that AI Overviews appear in 15% of direct local-intent searches, like [personal injury lawyers in Phoenix]. For informational questions, they show up 92% of the time, and for hybrid questions, like whether to hire a lawyer after an accident, they appear 97% of the time. In the same study, local packs showed up for 93% of direct local-intent searches. Overall, AI Overviews were more common for informational and hybrid questions than for direct local-intent searches.
SOCi’s Local Visibility Index analyzed over 350,000 locations and found ChatGPT recommended 1.2% of them. That’s a far lower rate than the same brands’ appearances in Google’s local 3-pack, by SOCi’s own measurement. BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey found 45% of consumers now use ChatGPT or similar tools for local business recommendations, up from 6% the year before.
What The Answers Get Wrong
Searchable released two sets of test results to trade press this month. In tests involving 165 London businesses, Searchable tested ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity with 13,365 questions about services, contact info, size, and founding dates, then compared answers to Companies House records and official profiles.
According to CMOTech, 93% of these businesses had at least one basic fact that was wrong or missing. Half of the smaller businesses received at least one false fact, compared to 32% of larger companies. A second test examined UK high street retailers with over 72,000 questions. Retail Focus reported that one in 16 answers was incorrect. Wrong…
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