How do ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI answers, Gemini, Copilot and Claude find local businesses?
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot and Claude all say they can draw on the live web and show links or citations, with conditions that vary by plan and setting. Of the platform pages read on 2026-10-24, only Google's describe a listing a business can claim: its Business Profile. The others describe no way for a business to add or claim a listing. No platform is ranked here.
How to read this comparison
One row per assistant. Every cell comes from that platform's own help or developer page, quoted or closely paraphrased, and the pages are listed under Sources. Where a platform says yes, no or sometimes, the cell uses its words. Where the pages read do not answer the question, the cell says so. The rows are in no particular order, and nothing here ranks one assistant above another.
Google appears twice because it runs two different things: AI Overviews and AI Mode inside Google Search, and the separate Gemini app.
What each assistant says it does
| Assistant | Searches the live web? | Shows source links or citations? | Shows a map or business listings? | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (OpenAI) | Yes. OpenAI says ChatGPT includes a "first-party web search tool"; you ask for current information or sources, and results appear when it uses the tool. OpenAI adds that workspace settings can limit whether search is available. | Yes. "Search results and citations appear in the chat when ChatGPT uses web search." | Partly stated. OpenAI's developer page for a quote-request feature, "currently in beta" with approved partners, describes a "business card or sidebar" for an eligible local business. A map is not stated on the pages read. | 2026-10-24 |
| Perplexity | Yes. Perplexity says it uses AI to "search the internet in real-time". | Yes. "Each answer includes numbered citations linking to the original sources", it says. | Not stated by Perplexity on the pages read (checked 2026-10-24). | 2026-10-24 |
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Yes. Both are part of Google Search. Google says AI Mode splits a question into subtopics and "searches for each one simultaneously", and that both it and AI Overviews may issue multiple related searches. | Yes. An AI Overview is "an AI-generated snapshot with key information and links to dig deeper"; AI Mode answers come with "helpful links to the web". | Partly stated. Google says AI Mode can "Find local appointments, such as haircuts or auto repair" and research home services, and that when a business has little information online, "Google can make calls on your behalf". A map inside the AI answer is not stated on the pages read. | 2026-10-24 |
| Google Gemini (the app) | Yes, through Google Search. "Gemini can always use public information from Google Search", even when you are signed out. | Sometimes. Google says "Not all responses include related links or sources"; when there are any, a Sources button appears at the bottom of the response or in-line. | Partly stated. Google says Gemini uses public information from Google Maps, and that the mobile app can "visualize your plans on a map". On its mobile-app page, Google says that for a routine run through Google Home, actions such as asking for the weather get voice and text responses only, and Gemini no longer displays visual information cards such as maps. | 2026-10-24 |
| Microsoft Copilot | Yes, when web search is on. Microsoft's privacy FAQ (which says it covers only the older version of the Copilot app) says "Copilot searches for relevant content across the web" and summarizes what it finds; its page on web search in Copilot Chat says availability "can vary based on your account type, license, and organization settings". | Yes. "It also cites its sources", and when web search is used a "Sources button below your response" appears. | Not stated by Microsoft on the pages read (checked 2026-10-24). | 2026-10-24 |
| Claude (Anthropic) | Yes, when web search is on. Anthropic says Claude grounds its answers with "content from the live web"; in its newer experience, "Claude searches the web when it helps". | Yes. "Every response includes citations" when it searches, with source links for further reading. | Not stated by Anthropic on the pages read (checked 2026-10-24). Its page on visual content describes weather and recipe cards, not business listings. | 2026-10-24 |
What each one draws on, and what a business can do
| Assistant | What it says it draws on for business information | Can a business submit or claim anything? | Its own advice on being found |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (OpenAI) | The live web when it searches, with results and citations shown in the chat (its models' training data is covered in the related answer on where ChatGPT gets its information). For the quote-request beta, approved partners supply "local business records" with a name, address, location, phone number and website. | No owner-facing listing is stated on the pages read. OpenAI's developer pages list plugins, workspace agents, a commerce protocol for merchants and ads; the local quote-request feed is for approved partners, who apply through a merchants form. | Not stated on the OpenAI pages cited here (checked 2026-10-24). |
| Perplexity | Sources it describes as "articles, websites, and journals" and "reputable news organizations, academic publications, and established content sources". It rates whole websites, and marks some cited domains Government, Academic or Trusted. | Not stated by Perplexity on the pages read (checked 2026-10-24). Its source-labels page says a website owner can contact support with questions about labels, and that partnerships and payments "do not affect a site's label". | Not stated as advice. Its source-labels page says labels go to sites that clearly meet checks such as correcting their mistakes, saying who wrote each piece and keeping news separate from advertising and opinion. |
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Web content: Google says AI Mode responses are "supported by high quality web content". For local requests, the information a business has online and, when that is thin, a phone call to the business. Its page for site owners names Business Profile and Merchant Center information among the things to keep current. | Yes: a Google Business Profile. Google says that when you add and verify a profile, "customers can find your business on Search and Maps". A business can also turn Google's automated calls on or off in its profile settings. | Yes. "There are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode"; Google points to the same practices as regular Search, such as "creating helpful, reliable, people-first content", and checking that "Business Profile information is up-to-date". |
| Google Gemini (the app) | Google Search and "public information" from certain Google services, including Google Maps, Google Flights, Google Hotels and YouTube (for those four, Google says Keep Activity must be on). | Google's add-or-claim page covers Search and Maps, and Google says Gemini uses public information from Google Maps. An owner or manager of only one verified profile, aged 18 or over, signed in with a personal Google account and with Keep Activity on, can also connect it to the Gemini web app to update hours and contact details and draft replies to reviews. | Not stated as advice on being found (checked 2026-10-24). Google's Business Profile page says Gemini's business notebook can suggest "Updating missing Business Profile info, like business hours or a description". |
| Microsoft Copilot | Content found "across the web" when web search is used, described as "the latest publicly available information". | Not stated by Microsoft on the pages read (checked 2026-10-24). | Not stated by Microsoft on the pages read (checked 2026-10-24). |
| Claude (Anthropic) | "content from the live web" when it searches, processing multiple sources. It may use your location for "localized results". | Not stated by Anthropic on the pages read (checked 2026-10-24). Its pages describe the opposite direction: how a site owner can block or remove content from Claude's web search outputs. | Not stated as advice on being found. Anthropic says a site owner can control what appears: "you can control what shows up in Claude outputs that use web search". Its troubleshooting page tells users to review Claude's cited sources. |
Re-check before you rely on this
Re-check: the platforms change; this table was read on 2026-10-24. Each row's pages are listed under Sources, so you can read the current version yourself. Microsoft's privacy FAQ says it covers only the older version of the Copilot app, which has since been updated (August 18, 2026), and Microsoft's page giving an overview of the Copilot app does not describe web search or citations. So the Copilot row combines that FAQ with Microsoft's page on web search in Copilot Chat and agents; read both before relying on it.
What this means for an owner
Across all six, the pattern is the same: the assistant reads what is on the web and, in most cases, shows where it looked. So say plainly what you do, where and for whom on your own website, and keep those facts current wherever you have put them. Answer the real questions customers ask, in their words, on your own pages, because that is text an assistant may quote. Keep reviews honest, and never pay or reward anyone for them. Then ask each assistant about your business and note what it says. The related answers on what GEO is, where ChatGPT gets its information, whether you can add your business to ChatGPT, and how to get more reviews the right way go deeper on each step.
Sources
- OpenAI, ChatGPT Learn, "Web search"
- OpenAI Developers, "Local services Get Quote conversion spec"
- OpenAI Developers, "Build for ChatGPT"
- Perplexity Help Center, "How does Perplexity work?" (last modified August 28, 2026)
- Perplexity Help Center, "What is Perplexity?" (last modified August 28, 2026)
- Perplexity Help Center, "Understanding source labels" (last modified October 6, 2026)
- Google Search Help, "Find information in faster & easier ways with AI Overviews in Google Search"
- Google Search Help, "Get AI-powered responses with AI Mode in Google Search"
- Google Search Help, "Use AI Mode to check local availability and pricing"
- Google Search Central, "AI features and your website" (updated December 10, 2025)
- Google Business Profile Help, "Add or claim your Business Profile"
- Google Business Profile Help, "About automated calls and texts from Google to your business"
- Gemini Apps Help, "Use & manage Connected Apps in Gemini"
- Gemini Apps Help, "View related sources from Gemini Apps"
- Gemini Apps Help, "What you can do with your Gemini mobile app"
- Google Business Profile Help, "Manage your Business Profile on Google with the Gemini web app"
- Microsoft Support, "Privacy FAQ for Microsoft Copilot"
- Microsoft Support, "How web search works in Microsoft Copilot Chat and agents"
- Microsoft Support, "Get started with the Microsoft Copilot app"
- Anthropic, Claude Help Center, "Enable and use web search"
- Anthropic, Claude Help Center, "Claude is providing incorrect or misleading responses. What's going on?" (March 16, 2026)
- Anthropic, Claude Help Center, "Report, block, and remove content from Claude" (September 3, 2026)
- Anthropic, Claude Help Center, "Visual and interactive content"
Related answers
- What is GEO (generative engine optimization)?
- Where does ChatGPT get its information about a business?
- Can you add your business to ChatGPT?
- How do you get more reviews the right way?
- How do I get my business mentioned in Google AI Overviews?
- What is Microsoft Copilot, and do customers use it to find businesses?
- What is Claude, and do customers use it to find businesses?
- How do you check what ChatGPT says about your business?
GEO: recommended in AI answers
When a customer asks ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI who to call, the answer names a few businesses. GEO is the work of making yours one of them.