Key takeaways
- Start with Google Search. Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode are part of Search, and Google says the usual SEO fundamentals still apply.
- ChatGPT is the next one to test. OpenAI says it can search the web and use location, so questions that include your town or postcode are worth checking.
- Bing and Copilot are worth a look where your customers use them. Bing's AI Performance report in Webmaster Tools shows where your pages are cited, but it does not report a position or guarantee traffic.
- No platform guarantees a mention or a recommendation, and results can differ by question, location and time.
- Choose what to monitor from how your own customers search, not from a general league table of platforms.
- Whichever platform they use, accurate and consistent business information gives every answer something reliable to work from.
If you run an accountancy practice or an established local business, there is now a growing list of places where a customer might ask for a recommendation. It is reasonable to wonder where to look first, and which of them deserves your limited time. If the idea of AI visibility is new to you, our guide to what AI visibility means for a local business in plain English is a good starting point.
The useful question is not which tool to chase. It is which routes your customers are likely to use, and what you can do to be accurately described on all of them. The answer is a sensible order of priority, not a ranking of winners.
Direct answer
Google Search matters most for most local businesses, because Google's AI features sit inside Search and its usual SEO fundamentals still apply. Test ChatGPT next, since it can search the web and use location. Check Bing and Copilot where your customers use them. No platform guarantees a recommendation.
Watch the guide
Which AI search platforms matter most to local businesses?
Prefer to watch? This short guide explains why Google Search comes first, where ChatGPT fits, when Bing or Copilot is worth checking, and a practical first check.
Which AI search platforms matter most for a local business?
For most local businesses, the order is Google Search first, ChatGPT second, and Bing or Copilot third, depending on your audience. This is a priority for your attention, not a claim about market share. We have not set out any usage figures here, because the aim is to help you decide where to look first, not to rank the platforms against each other.
The reason for the order is practical. Google is where your existing search work already counts. ChatGPT is a separate service, but it can search the web and use location, so it can answer the kind of local question your customers ask. Bing and Copilot are the smaller call: worth checking when your own customers use them, and easy to leave until the first two are in hand.
It also helps to remember that these platforms do not all work the same way. The detail of how Google's AI features differ from ChatGPT is a topic of its own, so here we only need the order of priority.
Why should Google Search be the starting point?
Google's AI features are part of Search, so the work you do for Search is also the work that supports them. Google's Search Central guidance on AI features says that the best practices for SEO remain relevant for AI Overviews and AI Mode. It also says there are no additional requirements to appear in them and no special optimisations needed.
In plain terms, that supports clear, crawlable, helpful pages on your own website rather than AI-only tactics. For a local business, it also points to your Google Business Profile. Google's Business Profile guidance says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that complete, accurate profile information helps match a business with relevant searches. Services, category, location, hours and contact details are the facts to keep right, and we cover that in keeping your Google Business Profile accurate.
A strong Google presence does not guarantee an AI recommendation, though. Local-result factors and the way an individual AI answer is generated are two different things, which we explain in why a Google ranking does not guarantee an AI recommendation.
Where does ChatGPT fit in local discovery?
ChatGPT matters when customers use conversational search, especially for research and local questions. According to OpenAI's help centre, ChatGPT can search the web, and adding a city, neighbourhood or postcode can improve local results. OpenAI's page also notes that its search results and citations can be incomplete, outdated or incorrect.
For a local business, that points to one practical step: test real buyer wording with a location in it. For example, try "accountant for a small limited company in [your town]" and see how, and whether, your firm is described. It is a way to find out what a customer might see. It is not evidence that ChatGPT will recommend you.
If you want to know how many customers already use it for this, we look at the evidence in how many customers already use ChatGPT to find local businesses, so we will not repeat it here.
When is Bing/Copilot worth checking?
Bing and Copilot are worth checking where your audience uses them, and where you want a view of how your pages are cited in Microsoft's AI experiences. Bing's announcement of AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools, introduced in public preview in February 2026, describes it as a way to understand citation performance in those experiences.
Treat it as an observation aid. It is not a position report, and it does not guarantee traffic. If nobody in your audience uses Bing or Copilot, it can wait. If they do, it is a low-effort extra check once you have looked at Google and ChatGPT.
How should a local business decide what to monitor?
Let your customers decide. Start from the questions they really ask, and the platforms they are likely to use to ask them. If you are not sure, ask new enquiries how they found you, and look at where your website visitors come from. That tells you far more than any general ranking of platforms.
Then run a simple test. Choose five real buyer questions, including your location, and try them in the platforms your audience uses. Compare how each one describes your business with the facts on your own website and profiles. Expect differences: answers can vary by question, location and time, so one result is a snapshot, not a verdict. If you would like an outside view of that picture, you can request a free AI Visibility Report.
It also helps to understand why a business is chosen at all. We cover that in why AI recommends some local businesses and not others.
What should the business improve regardless of platform?
Improve the information that every platform draws on. A clear, accurate description of your services, your location and how to contact you helps wherever a customer asks. That means helpful pages on your website, a complete Google Business Profile, and details that match wherever they appear. Our overview of AI visibility for local businesses shows how these pieces fit together.
None of this is a trick for one platform. It is the groundwork that makes your business easy to find, understand and trust, whichever route a customer takes.
A practical check
A first platform check for your business
- Choose five real buyer questions. Use the wording your customers use, and include your town or postcode.
- Test them where your audience searches. Start with Google Search, then ChatGPT, then Bing or Copilot if your customers use it.
- Compare each answer with your own facts. Check services, category, location, hours and contact details against your website and Google Business Profile.
- Fix the source, not the symptom. Correct anything wrong or unclear on your website and profiles first.
- Repeat the check over time. Answers can change by question, location and time, so look again rather than relying on one result.
None of this guarantees a mention or a recommendation on any platform, and anyone who promises that should be treated with caution. If you want help seeing where you stand, you can request an AI Visibility Report and see how your business currently appears.