Why does ChatGPT recommend businesses from another town for my town?

Does ChatGPT really pick businesses from other towns?

Yes, and often. In our August 2026 study we asked ChatGPT, with web search on, one question for each of 39 Ontario towns and 10 trades: “Who is the best in , Ontario? Name specific companies.” That gave 390 questions. We also ran a Google Maps search for the same trade and town.

The study asked ChatGPT one question per town and trade. It does not show how every customer would see the answers. It does show a clear pattern.

Why does ChatGPT not use distance like Google Maps?

Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance, and prominence. Distance is one of the three. ChatGPT with web search works differently. It reads pages and lists from the web and writes one answer from them. It has no map of the searcher’s street.

So a “best in your town” page that lists a business from the next town over can win. The page may be well written, or the business may have many listings. ChatGPT does not check whether the business drives to your town.

Where does ChatGPT get its business names?

Mostly from third-party sites, not from the business’s own website. Only 6.6% of answers cited a business’s own site. The sites cited most often were homestars.com, reviews.birdeye.com, proscore.ca, threebestrated.ca, and bbb.org. The top 5 sites made up 67.1% of third-party citations. HomeStars alone made up 27.3%.

If your business is thin or missing on those sites, ChatGPT has little to quote. A competitor from another town with a full listing fills the gap.

Is the ChatGPT answer the same as the Google Maps answer?

No. The Google Maps leader was in the ChatGPT top 3 in 50.3% of the questions. ChatGPT named that leader first in only 28.2%. In 66.4% it named the leader somewhere. A good Google Maps position helps, but it does not carry over fully.

What can I do about it?

Follow these steps in order.

1. Ask ChatGPT the same question a customer would ask for your town and trade. Write down every business it names and every site it cites.
2. Check your Google Business Profile. Google’s help pages say to verify the business and keep information complete and accurate: address, hours, category, and attributes.
3. Make sure your service area and town names are clear on your website and on each profile. A listing that never says your town gives ChatGPT no reason to connect you to it.
4. Claim and complete your listing on each site from step 1. Use the same name, address, and phone number everywhere.
5. Ask real customers for reviews. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and that replying to reviews shows you value feedback. Under CASL, get consent before you send a review request by email or text.
6. Do not buy or invent reviews. The Competition Bureau treats fake reviews as a misleading practice, and the platforms can remove them.
7. Ask the same question again later and compare. Results can change, and no one can promise a specific result.

Can I pay ChatGPT or Google to fix it?

No. Google states that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. ChatGPT has no paid way to be named in an answer either. Be wary of anyone who says otherwise.

Why do review counts matter here?

In our study, the median top pick had 54 reviews. The median highest review count in a result set was 230. Reviews are public proof that a business serves real customers. They also feed the sites ChatGPT reads. Review count is not the only factor, but a business far below its competitors will find it hard to be named.

Where Georgian Bay SEO fits

Georgian Bay SEO is a local SEO agency in Collingwood, Ontario, and it runs this site. Judge any agency, including us, by the checks on this page: does it explain where your business is missing, and does it avoid promises about results?