State of Local AI Search: AI Named About One in Five Checked Local Businesses in Early PressGEO Benchmark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PHOENIX — Oct.

27, 2026 — PressGEO today released early results from its open Local AI Visibility Benchmark. Across seven metros with recorded checks, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Copilot named 105 of 493 checked local service businesses at least once in the trailing 90 days, or 21% (recorded benchmark checks run by PressGEO across seven metros, trailing 90 days ending Oct. 27, 2026). Most checked local businesses were never named. The benchmark tracks whether AI search engines and answer engines name local service businesses when buyers ask for recommendations in their city. The current snapshot covers only searches PressGEO actually ran in the trailing 90 days, and a business counts as named if any engine cited it in at least one buyer-intent answer (PressGEO methodology, snapshot as of Oct. 27, 2026). ## Which cities have results so far? Phoenix has the deepest data in the current benchmark. All 156 tracked businesses in Phoenix were checked across 6,450 buyer-intent searches, and 54 were named at least once, or 35% (recorded benchmark checks run by PressGEO in Phoenix, trailing 90 days ending Oct. 27, 2026). Early figures in other metros are based on fewer checks per business. Houston had 14 of 93 businesses named, or 15%; Dallas had 13 of 104, or 13%; Tampa had 12 of 95, or 13%; Austin had 5 of 26; Atlanta had 1 of 10; and Charlotte had 6 of 9 (recorded benchmark checks run by PressGEO by metro, trailing 90 days ending Oct. 27, 2026). These early figures will change as checks accumulate. The remaining 13 metros are still being checked and are shown as pending rather than counted as zero. Those metros include Seattle, San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami (PressGEO benchmark coverage list, snapshot as of Oct. 27, 2026). Businesses that have not been checked are excluded, not treated as never named. ## How do metro results compare? | Metro | Businesses checked | Businesses named at least once | Share named | |---|---:|---:|---:| | Phoenix | 156 | 54 | 35% | | Houston | 93 | 14 | 15% | | Dallas | 104 | 13 | 13% | | Tampa | 95 | 12 | 13% | | Austin | 26 | 5 | 19% | | Atlanta | 10 | 1 | 10% | | Charlotte | 9 | 6 | 67% | Source: PressGEO Local AI Visibility Benchmark, recorded checks in the trailing 90 days ending Oct. 27, 2026. PressGEO notes that early figures outside Phoenix are based on fewer checks per business and will change as checks accumulate. ## Why does this matter? "Local owners are being told AI search is the new front door, but almost nobody measures who it actually recommends," said Chase Norlin, founder of PressGEO. The benchmark is designed to show which businesses are actually named in AI-generated recommendations, AI search answers and local service suggestions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini and Copilot. The full city table and a free downloadable spreadsheet are available under a CC-BY license at https://pressgeo.com/research/local-ai-visibility (PressGEO research page, accessed Oct. 27, 2026).

PressGEO (2026, October 27). State of Local AI Search: AI Named About One in Five Checked Local Businesses in Early PressGEO Benchmark. PressGEO. /r/state-of-local-ai-search-ai-named-about-one-in-five-checked-local-businesses-in--86u9nh