What AI search recommended this week

24 August 2026 · Based on 47 recorded test runs · AI Visibility Index

AI search engines are already surfacing a small set of local businesses repeatedly, and the names vary by query phrasing even within the same city. In the recorded tests, some searches produced a single dominant recommendation, while others spread attention across several businesses and even non-business entities like Zocdoc or “specialty.”

What the data shows

The strongest pattern is that AI answers do not behave like a fixed local ranking. They are sensitive to query wording, and the same service plus city can produce a different set of recommended businesses.

For “dentist in Chicago, IL” across 8 test runs, the most named result was Chicago Loop Dentistry, appearing in 50% of answers. Three other clinics—William J. Millon DDS, Smile Science Chicago, and University Associates in Dentistry—each appeared in 38% of answers, while Zocdoc appeared in 25%. That mix suggests the answer set is broad enough to include both practices and a platform brand.

For “dentist in Chicago, IL?” also across 8 test runs, the top result changed completely: Millennium Park Dental appeared in 100% of answers. DiPilla Dentistry of Chicago followed at 88%, while The Magnificent Smile and Chicago Loop Dentistry each appeared in 50% of answers. Bite Club appeared in 38%. The presence of a question mark did not just alter emphasis; it changed the lead recommendation.

Melbourne showed a different pattern again. For “dentist in Melbourne, Australia” across 8 test runs, Smile Solutions appeared in 100% of answers. Pacific Smiles Dental Melbourne CBD appeared in 88%, Gorgeous Smiles in 75%, DENTL East Melbourne in 50%, and Core Dental Southbank in 38%. Here, the AI consistently surfaced several recognizable practices, but one name still stood out as universally named.

Phoenix split into two distinct answer sets. For “dentist in Phoenix, AZ” across 8 test runs, Jerome Riddle, DDS appeared in 100% of answers, with Biltmore Dental Center at 75% and Arizona Biltmore Dentistry at 62%. The remaining entries were Specialty and Insurance acceptance, each at 25%. That is a reminder that AI search sometimes recommends attributes or categories alongside businesses.

For “dentist in Phoenix, AZ?” across 8 test runs, Biltmore Dental Center became the dominant name at 100%. Musselman Dentistry appeared in 75% of answers, North Mountain Dentistry and The Biting Edge Family Dentistry each in 50%, and Downtown Phoenix Dental in 38%. Again, the query punctuation appears to shift which business the model treats as the safest answer to give.

Brisbane showed the clearest concentration of all. For “dentist in Brisbane, Australia” across 7 test runs, three businesses each appeared in 100% of answers: North Brisbane Dental Clinic, Brisbane Dental and Denture Clinic, and Brisbane Dental. Dental Boutique Brisbane appeared in 86% of answers, and SmileFresh Teeth Whitening Brisbane in 71%. That means the AI was not just recommending one option; it was repeatedly naming a small cluster of highly visible local businesses.

What this means if you’re a local business

AI search visibility looks less like classic blue-link SEO and more like entity selection. Businesses that show up consistently may have stronger crawler access, clearer entity signals, and more citable answers across the web.

If you want to be named more often, the practical goal is straightforward: make sure your business is easy for systems to identify, trust, and quote. That means consistent business names, strong location pages, structured contact details, and enough third-party references that an AI can confidently treat you as a real local entity.

It also helps to think beyond your own website. AI systems seem willing to draw from directories, review sites, and other sources that support a business’s identity. When those signals are clean and consistent, the business is more likely to be selected as an answer candidate.

FAQ

Why do the results change when the query wording changes?
The data shows that even small wording differences can shift which businesses are named most often. That suggests the model is interpreting the query slightly differently rather than relying on one stable local list.

Does being named in more answers mean the business is “winning” local AI search?
It means the business is appearing more often in these test runs, but not that it will always be selected everywhere. AI search visibility is query-sensitive, so the same business may perform differently across variants.

All numbers above come from recorded test runs published in our open data index. Want your business tested? One-time diagnostic, no subscription.