Angi was named most often, but four other platforms are within its margin. Angi: 102/288 (35.4%; 95% interval 30.1–41.1%). Yelp: 96/288 (33.3%; 95% interval 28.1–39.0%). Their 95% intervals overlap. Google Business Profile (91/288), BBB (88/288) and Thumbtack (80/288) are also within the margin.
RESEARCH · Published June 15, 2026 · Updated November 6, 2026
Local Services Index 2.0: Five Platforms Too Close to Call
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
of answers named Angi, the most-named (102 of 288)
tracked providers named at least once (of 40)
of Google searches showed an AI Overview (53 of 63)
Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published June 15, 2026. It uses measured counts, so the two versions are not comparable. Version 2 asks 24 questions three times each on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity (288 answers) and adds Google AI Overviews. Every rate comes with its count and a 95% interval.
What the data shows
102/288 (35.4%)
47/288 (16.3%)
33/72 (45.8%)
23/72 (31.9%)
34/263 (12.9%)
53/63 (84.1%)
21/53 (39.6%)
31/263 (11.8%)
Appearance rate across 288 four-engine answers. The bar is the 95% confidence interval; overlapping bars cannot be told apart at this sample size.
Which providers AI engines name
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angi | 102/288 | 35.4% | 30.1–41.1% |
| 2 | Yelp | 96/288 | 33.3% | 28.1–39.0% |
| 3 | Google Business Profile | 91/288 | 31.6% | 26.5–37.2% |
| 4 | BBB | 88/288 | 30.6% | 25.5–36.1% |
| 5 | Thumbtack | 80/288 | 27.8% | 22.9–33.2% |
| 6 | HomeAdvisor | 57/288 | 19.8% | 15.6–24.8% |
| 7 | Zocdoc | 39/288 | 13.5% | 10.1–18.0% |
| 8 | Roto-Rooter | 33/288 | 11.5% | 8.3–15.7% |
| 9 | Nextdoor | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8.0–15.3% |
| 10 | ARS/Rescue Rooter | 31/288 | 10.8% | 7.7–14.9% |
| 11 | Healthgrades | 29/288 | 10.1% | 7.1–14.1% |
| 12 | Mr. Rooter | 29/288 | 10.1% | 7.1–14.1% |
| 13 | Martindale-Hubbell | 28/288 | 9.7% | 6.8–13.7% |
| 14 | Aspen Dental | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% |
| 15 | Avvo | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% |
The full list
Own-domain citation is the share of 263 grounded answers that cited the tracked name's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,230 citations. None means no own site is tracked for that name.
| # | Provider | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angi | 102/288 | 35.4% | 30.1–41.1% | 1.9 | 10.3% (27/263) | 1.4% |
| 2 | Yelp | 96/288 | 33.3% | 28.1–39% | 3.4 | 2.7% (7/263) | 0.4% |
| 3 | Google Business Profile | 91/288 | 31.6% | 26.5–37.2% | 3.4 | 0.4% (1/263) | 0% |
| 4 | BBB | 88/288 | 30.6% | 25.5–36.1% | 3.4 | 12.9% (34/263) | 1.7% |
| 5 | Thumbtack | 80/288 | 27.8% | 22.9–33.2% | 2.9 | 8.4% (22/263) | 1% |
| 6 | HomeAdvisor | 57/288 | 19.8% | 15.6–24.8% | 3 | 1.5% (4/263) | 0.2% |
| 7 | Zocdoc | 39/288 | 13.5% | 10.1–18% | 1.4 | 8.7% (23/263) | 1.1% |
| 8 | Roto-Rooter | 33/288 | 11.5% | 8.3–15.7% | 3.3 | 8.7% (23/263) | 1% |
| 9 | Nextdoor | 32/288 | 11.1% | 8–15.3% | 4.9 | 0% (0/263) | 0% |
| 10 | ARS/Rescue Rooter | 31/288 | 10.8% | 7.7–14.9% | 4.6 | 3.8% (10/263) | 0.4% |
| 11 | Healthgrades | 29/288 | 10.1% | 7.1–14.1% | 2.3 | 2.3% (6/263) | 0.3% |
| 12 | Mr. Rooter | 29/288 | 10.1% | 7.1–14.1% | 4.4 | 4.6% (12/263) | 0.8% |
| 13 | Martindale-Hubbell | 28/288 | 9.7% | 6.8–13.7% | 2.6 | 3% (8/263) | 0.4% |
| 14 | Aspen Dental | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 1.6 | 7.2% (19/263) | 0.9% |
| 15 | Avvo | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 1.7 | 2.7% (7/263) | 0.4% |
| 16 | Benjamin Franklin Plumbing | 24/288 | 8.3% | 5.7–12.1% | 4.8 | 4.6% (12/263) | 0.5% |
| 17 | FindLaw | 23/288 | 8% | 5.4–11.7% | 2.7 | 6.1% (16/263) | 0.8% |
| 18 | American Family Care | 20/288 | 6.9% | 4.5–10.5% | 1.5 | 1.1% (3/263) | 0.1% |
| 19 | CityMD | 20/288 | 6.9% | 4.5–10.5% | 1.9 | 1.1% (3/263) | 0.2% |
| 20 | Neighborly | 20/288 | 6.9% | 4.5–10.5% | 5.3 | 1.9% (5/263) | 0.2% |
| 21 | WebMD | 19/288 | 6.6% | 4.3–10.1% | 2.8 | 3.8% (10/263) | 0.6% |
| 22 | Lawyers.com | 17/288 | 5.9% | 3.7–9.2% | 3.5 | 2.7% (7/263) | 0.4% |
| 23 | Super Lawyers | 17/288 | 5.9% | 3.7–9.2% | 3.9 | 1.5% (4/263) | 0.2% |
| 24 | Justia | 15/288 | 5.2% | 3.2–8.4% | 3.9 | 3% (8/263) | 0.4% |
| 25 | Mr. Electric | 15/288 | 5.2% | 3.2–8.4% | 3.2 | 2.7% (7/263) | 0.3% |
| 26 | MedExpress | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8% | 3.1 | None | None |
| 27 | Morgan & Morgan | 13/288 | 4.5% | 2.7–7.6% | 3.6 | 2.3% (6/263) | 0.3% |
| 28 | One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning | 13/288 | 4.5% | 2.7–7.6% | 4.8 | 0.4% (1/263) | 0% |
The full list (continued)
| # | Provider | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Porch | 13/288 | 4.5% | 2.7–7.6% | 4.9 | 0% (0/263) | 0% |
| 30 | Western Dental | 13/288 | 4.5% | 2.7–7.6% | 2.2 | 1.9% (5/263) | 0.2% |
| 31 | MinuteClinic | 10/288 | 3.5% | 1.9–6.3% | 2.8 | 0.8% (2/263) | 0.1% |
| 32 | Mister Sparky | 9/288 | 3.1% | 1.7–5.8% | 4.3 | 1.1% (3/263) | 0.1% |
| 33 | One Medical | 8/288 | 2.8% | 1.4–5.4% | 4 | 0.4% (1/263) | 0% |
| 34 | Aire Serv | 6/288 | 2.1% | 1–4.5% | 6 | 2.7% (7/263) | 0.3% |
| 35 | Heartland Dental | 5/288 | 1.7% | 0.7–4% | 3 | 0% (0/263) | 0% |
| 36 | Pacific Dental Services | 5/288 | 1.7% | 0.7–4% | 4.8 | 0% (0/263) | 0% |
| 37 | Networx | 4/288 | 1.4% | 0.5–3.5% | 4 | 0% (0/263) | 0% |
| 38 | Solv | 3/288 | 1% | 0.4–3% | 3.3 | 3.8% (10/263) | 0.4% |
| 39 | Cellino Law | 1/288 | 0.3% | 0.1–1.9% | 5 | 0% (0/263) | 0% |
| 40 | Allen & Allen | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/263) | 0% |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angi | 35.4% | 102/288 answers · 95% CI 30.1–41.1% | first-mention position: 1.9; owned-domain citation (27/263): 10.3%; citation share: 1.4% |
| 2 | Yelp | 33.3% | 96/288 answers · 95% CI 28.1–39% | first-mention position: 3.4; owned-domain citation (7/263): 2.7%; citation share: 0.4% |
| 3 | Google Business Profile | 31.6% | 91/288 answers · 95% CI 26.5–37.2% | first-mention position: 3.4; owned-domain citation (1/263): 0.4%; citation share: 0% |
| 4 | BBB | 30.6% | 88/288 answers · 95% CI 25.5–36.1% | first-mention position: 3.4; owned-domain citation (34/263): 12.9%; citation share: 1.7% |
| 5 | Thumbtack | 27.8% | 80/288 answers · 95% CI 22.9–33.2% | first-mention position: 2.9; owned-domain citation (22/263): 8.4%; citation share: 1% |
| 6 | HomeAdvisor | 19.8% | 57/288 answers · 95% CI 15.6–24.8% | first-mention position: 3; owned-domain citation (4/263): 1.5%; citation share: 0.2% |
| 7 | Zocdoc | 13.5% | 39/288 answers · 95% CI 10.1–18% | first-mention position: 1.4; owned-domain citation (23/263): 8.7%; citation share: 1.1% |
| 8 | Roto-Rooter | 11.5% | 33/288 answers · 95% CI 8.3–15.7% | first-mention position: 3.3; owned-domain citation (23/263): 8.7%; citation share: 1% |
Gemini named Yelp in 33 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 17 to 23 of 72. ChatGPT named HomeAdvisor in 23 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 8 to 14 of 72.
ChatGPT
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Same questions, different answers
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 47 grounded
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Google AI Overviews were captured through 63 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 53 = 341 answers.
The fifth engine
Trigger rate: 53 of 63 searches
Google AI Overviews appeared on 53 of 63 searches (84.1%, CI 73.2–91.1%). The other 10 searches showed no overview. Within the 53 overviews, Yelp was named in 21 (39.6%), Angi was named in 17 (32.1%), Thumbtack was named in 14 (26.4%), BBB was named in 13 (24.5%). youtube.com was the most-cited source, with 14 citations and an appearance in 11 of 53 overviews.
| Five-engine rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angi | 34.9% | 1 |
| 2 | Yelp | 34.3% | 2 |
| 3 | BBB | 29.6% | 4 |
| 4 | Google Business Profile | 28.7% | 3 |
| 5 | Thumbtack | 27.6% | 5 |
| 6 | HomeAdvisor | 18.8% | 6 |
| 7 | Zocdoc | 12.0% | 7 |
| 8 | Nextdoor | 11.4% | 9 |
| 9 | Roto-Rooter | 10.3% | 8 |
| 10 | ARS/Rescue Rooter | 9.1% | 10 |
Who each question surfaces first
Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.
| Question | Leader | Next | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q01 · 12 answers | Yelp 100.0% | Angi 100.0%; BBB 91.7% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | Roto-Rooter 100.0% | Benjamin Franklin Plumbing 91.7%; ARS/Rescue Rooter 83.3% | AI Overview shown on 2 of 2 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | Angi 75.0% | BBB 75.0%; Thumbtack 66.7% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q04 · 12 answers | BBB 83.3% | Angi 58.3%; One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning 58.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | Aspen Dental 66.7% | Google Business Profile 66.7%; Yelp 41.7% | AI Overview shown on 2 of 3 searches |
| Q06 · 12 answers | Aspen Dental 50.0% | Western Dental 25.0%; Pacific Dental Services 8.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
The four engines produced 2,230 citations in total. en.wikipedia.org was cited most often, with 47 citations (2.1%) across 31 answers. Next came bbb.org (37), jucm.com (35), angi.com (30), trane.com (26), zocdoc.com (25).
Four AI engines · share of 263 grounded answers
Most-cited domains
Google AI Overviews · share of 53 overviews
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,230 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 174 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unclassified | 1,042 (46.7%) | 78 (44.8%) |
| Company / brand sites | 467 (20.9%) | 39 (22.4%) |
| Directories / rankings | 215 (9.6%) | 19 (10.9%) |
| Official / government | 171 (7.7%) | 4 (2.3%) |
| Reference | 92 (4.1%) | 3 (1.7%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 68 (3%) | 0 (0%) |
| Community / social | 50 (2.2%) | 28 (16.1%) |
| General news / business press | 35 (1.6%) | 0 (0%) |
| Institutions / trade bodies | 26 (1.2%) | 0 (0%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 23 (1%) | 0 (0%) |
| Health publishers | 21 (0.9%) | 0 (0%) |
| Research / data providers | 20 (0.9%) | 3 (1.7%) |
How can providers improve their AI visibility?
These steps follow from the measured results above. They describe what the engines cited in this study and are not a guarantee of results.
| Step | What this study measured |
|---|---|
| Put your facts on your own domain. | BBB's own domains were cited in 12.9% of grounded answers, Angi's in 10.3% and Zocdoc's in 8.7%. |
| Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite. | The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were en.wikipedia.org (in 11.8% of grounded answers), bestlawyers.com (6.8%), mouthhealthy.org (6.5%), reddit.com (6.1%) and jucm.com (5.3%). Directories and rankings supplied 9.6% of citations and official and government 7.7%. |
| Check each engine separately. | ChatGPT named Angi in 44.4% of answers against 20.8% on Perplexity. Claude named Google Business Profile in 43.1% of answers against 20.8% on Perplexity. |
| Watch names outside the tracked list. | GoHealth Urgent Care (18 answers), Houzz (17 answers), NextCare Urgent Care (16 answers), WellNow Urgent Care (15 answers), California Contractors State License Board (15 answers) were named often but were not tracked. |
| Re-run the same questions every month. | Compare counts and intervals, not ranks. The 24 questions are in the appendix. |
What AI answers
Which provider do AI engines name most often?
Angi, named in 102 of 288 four-engine answers (35.4%, CI 30.1–41.1%). Yelp was second at 96 of 288 (33.3%). The intervals overlap, so the two cannot be separated statistically.
Which provider is named first most often?
Angi was the first provider named in 47 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 1.9.
How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?
An overview appeared on 53 of 63 searches (84.1%, CI 73.2–91.1%). Within those 53 overviews, Yelp was named most often, in 21 (39.6%).
Which sources do the engines cite?
Across 2,230 four-engine citations, en.wikipedia.org was cited most (47 citations, in 31 of 263 grounded answers), followed by bbb.org (37 citations).
Do the four engines agree?
Only in part. Gemini named Yelp in 33 of 72 answers, against 17 to 23 of 72 on the other engines. ChatGPT named HomeAdvisor in 23 of 72 answers, against 8 to 14 of 72 on the other engines.
How this study was measured
24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 63 Google searches · 53 AI Overviews
24 questions asked three times on each of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, measured October 30 to 31, 2026. United States, English; Google retrieval uses desktop results. Models: gpt-5-mini, claude-sonnet-5-5, gemini-3.6-flash only, sonar-pro. Google AI Overviews come from DataForSEO, not inferred chat answers. Appearance counts returned text, including ungrounded answers; citation rates use grounded answers. Longer overlapping names suppress shorter ones; First mention is the earliest eligible name order. Own-domain rates include declared domains and subdomains; shared parent scopes may count for multiple names and cannot be summed as unique citations.
| Engine | Model IDs called | Asked | Returned | Grounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-mini | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-5-5 | 72 | 72 | 47 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.6-flash | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Perplexity | sonar-pro | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Google AI Overviews | DataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced) | 63 | 53 shown | 53 |
Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.
Definitions
- Appearance rate: answers naming the tracked name ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
- First mention: average order in which the tracked name first appears (1 = first).
- Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the tracked name's domains ÷ grounded answers.
- Citation share: citations to the tracked name's domains ÷ all citations.
Limits
- Only 40 tracked providers are ranked; results are not an exhaustive market ranking.
- Only the tracked brands were scored. Untracked names that appeared often were not scored, including GoHealth Urgent Care (18 answers), Houzz (17 answers), NextCare Urgent Care (16 answers), WellNow Urgent Care (15 answers), California Contractors State License Board (15 answers).
- Answers were collected over two days, October 30 and 31, 2026. 351 of 360 planned results were returned. 9 AI Overview lookups were excluded after at most three total attempts.
- 63 successful Google searches: 53 overviews shown; 10 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
- 25 chat answers had no search sources and are left out of the citation figures.
- Removing 2 Core questions naming tracked subjects leaves 264 eligible answers. The top two are Angi (88/264) and BBB (85/264); their order changes.
- Names with no tracked own site are shown as None. Source types use Company / brand sites only for verified official organisations; other unresolved sites are Other / unclassified.
- Wilson 95% intervals are descriptive; overlapping leading intervals do not establish a sole leader. Measurements do not endorse medical, legal, financial or product claims.
- The tracked names are the national chains, franchise networks and finder platforms from the original report, plus a few added directories. Two Core questions name tracked platforms (Yelp and Google reviews; Angi and Thumbtack). Independent local businesses are not tracked one by one.
- Answers came from each engine's API (model IDs above); the consumer apps can answer differently.
Appendix: The 24 questions
Questions marked "Core question" are the original study questions, asked word for word. The others are added neutral questions.
| # | Question | Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | How do I find a reliable plumber? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 02 | Who should I call for an emergency plumbing problem? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 03 | How do I find a licensed electrician? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 04 | How do I find a good HVAC repair company? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 05 | How do I find a good dentist that takes walk-ins? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 06 | Where can I get affordable dental care without insurance? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 07 | How do I find a primary care doctor who is accepting new patients? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 08 | Where can I go for urgent care without an appointment? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 09 | How do I find a personal injury lawyer after a car accident? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 10 | What are the best websites for finding local contractors? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 11 | Are Yelp reviews or Google reviews more reliable for choosing a service provider? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 12 | Is Angi or Thumbtack better for hiring a contractor? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Core question |
| 13 | How do I find a licensed and insured plumber? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 14 | What is the best way to find a water heater repair service? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 15 | How do I find an emergency electrician? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 16 | How do I choose an air conditioning repair company? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 17 | How do I find a family dentist? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 18 | How do I find an emergency dentist? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 19 | What are the largest urgent care chains in the US? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 20 | How do I find a doctor online? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 21 | What are the best websites for finding a lawyer? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 22 | How do I choose a personal injury law firm? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 23 | What are the best home services apps? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
| 24 | How do I check a contractor's reviews and license? | Local Services Index 2.0 | Added question |
About 5W
5W is an independent PR, creative and AI Visibility agency founded in 2003, and we get you in the chatbox. All of our work is done in house, including media relations, site building and content. Learn more about our GEO practice or write to info@5wpr.com.
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