A new study reveals nearly 60% of Gemini’s local AI search citations go to business websites, far surpassing directories and forums. However, repeated queries rarely yield the same results, raising questions about AI consistency.
Business websites have emerged as the leading source for citations in Gemini’s local AI search, according to a recent analysis by Steady Demand. Reviewing 14,472 citations from 1,487 local search queries across 50 major U.S. metro areas, researchers found that nearly 60% of Gemini’s AI-generated recommendations pointed directly to the websites of local businesses. This figure outpaced the combined share of directories, review platforms, and forums.
Reddit ranked as the second most-cited source, accounting for 13.7% of all citations. This performance placed Reddit ahead of well-known local-service directories such as Angi, Thumbtack, and HomeAdvisor. The study highlights a significant shift in how AI platforms surface local information, with business-owned sites now dominating over traditional aggregators.
One of the most notable findings was the inconsistency in Gemini’s results. Steady Demand’s co-founder Ben Fisher described this phenomenon as “Grounding Drift.” When researchers repeated identical queries, only about 40% of the cited sources overlapped. In contrast, Google’s local pack returned the same top listing roughly 90% of the time, while Gemini recommended the same top business just 7% of the time. Fisher advised treating each AI search as a temporary snapshot rather than a stable indicator of long-term visibility.
To compare AI platforms, the same set of 1,487 local queries was also run through ChatGPT. The overlap between Gemini and ChatGPT was minimal: both cited many of the same domains only 8% of the time and recommended the same top business just 4.2% of the time. While Gemini favored business websites, ChatGPT leaned more heavily on Reddit and business directories for its recommendations.
These findings underscore the importance of monitoring multiple AI platforms for local search visibility. Relying on a single engine could provide a skewed picture, as Gemini and ChatGPT rarely highlight the same businesses or sources. This dynamic is reminiscent of recent changes in Google’s product ecosystem, such as the expanded account limits for agencies in Merchant Center, which was covered in detail in our report on Google’s updated Merchant Center for Agencies.
Steady Demand’s research covered 10 service categories and focused on the largest U.S. metro areas. The study’s methodology involved repeating queries to assess consistency and comparing citation patterns across Gemini and ChatGPT. The results suggest that AI-driven local search is still evolving, with significant variability in how different platforms surface and prioritize information.
