Three platforms, three approaches
ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini all answer questions about local businesses — but they do it differently. Each platform uses different data sources, different reasoning, and different presentation formats. Understanding these differences is essential for optimizing your visibility across all three.
Our research has analyzed how all three platforms handle local business queries across multiple cities and industries. Here's what we found.
How ChatGPT recommends businesses
ChatGPT relies primarily on its training data — the massive dataset it was trained on. This means it draws from web content that existed at its training cutoff, supplemented by any browsing capabilities.
ChatGPT tends to recommend businesses that have strong web presence: detailed websites, frequently mentioned in articles and directories, and with consistent information across sources. It typically provides 3-5 recommendations with brief descriptions of why each is notable.
The downside: ChatGPT's knowledge can be months old. If you recently improved your website, those improvements may not be reflected in ChatGPT's recommendations until its next training update.
How Perplexity recommends businesses
Perplexity searches the web in real time for every query. It's essentially an AI-powered search engine that reads multiple sources and synthesizes an answer with citations.
Perplexity tends to favor sources with specific, factual content — pricing details, service descriptions, treatment information. It cites its sources, which means users can click through to your website directly. This makes Perplexity recommendations closer to traditional search referrals.
The advantage: changes to your website can affect Perplexity visibility quickly. The disadvantage: you're competing with every source Perplexity can find, not just what's in a fixed training dataset.
How Gemini recommends businesses
Gemini has deep integration with Google's ecosystem. It draws from Google Search results, Google Maps, Google Business Profiles, and Google Reviews. This gives it the most comprehensive view of local businesses.
Gemini tends to emphasize proximity, reviews, and Google Business Profile completeness. It often includes more local context than ChatGPT or Perplexity — mentioning neighborhood, parking availability, or specific attributes from the business profile.
The advantage: if you have a strong Google presence, Gemini is likely to reflect that. The disadvantage: Gemini's recommendations may lean heavily on Google's existing ranking signals, which makes it harder to break in as a newer business.
What this means for your strategy
The key takeaway: you can't optimize for just one platform. Each AI draws from different sources and uses different criteria. An effective AEO strategy covers all three:
- —Strong, well-structured website content — helps with all three platforms.
- —Complete Google Business Profile — especially important for Gemini.
- —Fresh, specific content — especially important for Perplexity.
- —Broad web presence and consistency — especially important for ChatGPT.
Use our free AI Visibility Checker to see how your site scores on the structural elements that matter across all platforms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which AI platform sends the most traffic?
It depends on your industry and location. ChatGPT has the largest user base, but Perplexity users tend to click through to sources more often. Google AI Overviews (powered by Gemini) reach the most people through regular Google searches. A comprehensive strategy covers all three.
Should I optimize for one platform first?
Start with your website structure — that helps across all platforms. If you had to prioritize, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews (Gemini) tend to show results faster because they search in real time or near-real time.
Do the three platforms ever recommend different businesses for the same query?
Frequently. In our research, we saw significant variation between platforms for the same query in the same city. A practice might be recommended by Perplexity but not by ChatGPT, or vice versa. This is why multi-platform optimization matters.
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