Does ChatGPT recommend the same businesses as Google Maps?
EasyFound · · 8 min read
Only partly. In our Malaysian test, only about one in five of the businesses ChatGPT named were among the first places Google listed for the same search. The rest came from further down the list, or from outside it, and ChatGPT found them on websites and directories, not on Google Maps. Keep your Google listing strong, and make sure your business is described on pages ChatGPT reads.
Only partly. In our Malaysian test, only about one in five of the businesses ChatGPT named were among the first places Google listed for the same search. The rest came from further down Google's list, or from outside it, and ChatGPT found them on websites and directories rather than on Google Maps.
So a strong Google listing gives you a head start with ChatGPT, not a seat. We asked ChatGPT eight everyday questions, such as "My aircon is leaking water. Any reliable aircon service in Shah Alam you'd recommend?", then searched Google for the same thing and compared the names.
How we read Google's ranking: the Places list in Google Search (not the Maps app), from one browser located in Petaling Jaya, with sponsored listings left out, on 8 October 2026. Rankings shift with where you search from and when, so this is one snapshot.
How many of ChatGPT's recommendations were in Google Maps' top results?
ChatGPT's recommendations overlapped with Google's top places far less than you might expect. Across eight local questions, each asked twice, ChatGPT named 47 different businesses. Ten of them were in Google's top five places for the same search. Sixteen were somewhere in Google's top 20, and 31 were not in it at all.
| Question (trade, city) | Named by ChatGPT | In Google's top 5 | In Google's top 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dentist, Petaling Jaya | 6 | 1 | 4 |
| Aircon service, Shah Alam | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Physiotherapy, Subang Jaya | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Tuition centre, Cheras | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Car workshop, Penang | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Café, Johor Bahru | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Bakery, Ipoh | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| Property lawyer, KL | 7 | 1 | 2 |
Every question had at least one name that both agreed on. Google's first-placed business made ChatGPT's answers in four of the eight questions.
A few matches were judgement calls: one physiotherapy clinic ChatGPT named under a longer name, and a few names with more than one branch. Counting only exact name matches, nine businesses were in Google's top five instead of ten. That is still about one in five. Google's first-placed business was then named in three questions, not four.
We also asked ChatGPT our headline question twice, with the same setup. Both times it said it "does not necessarily" recommend the same businesses, but that "there can be significant overlap". In our test, the overlap was real but small.
Which trades did ChatGPT and Google Maps agree on most?
ChatGPT and Google agreed most for the aircon service and the physiotherapy clinic, where two of ChatGPT's four picks were in Google's top five (one physio match was under a longer name).
The café answers leaned on travel and work-café round-ups, and the bakery answers on bakery websites and a local food guide; Google's top places were mostly different. For the property lawyer, ChatGPT cited the Malaysian Bar's lawyer directory and firm websites. It named seven firms, and five of them sat outside Google's top 20 for property lawyers in KL.
Our reading is that ChatGPT picks from whatever pages it finds for the question, not from Google's order. Each trade here is one question in one city, so read this as a pattern to check, not a rule for your trade.
Does ChatGPT recommend businesses with fewer Google reviews than Google Maps does?
ChatGPT often named businesses with far fewer Google reviews than Google's own top places. Google says that "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking"1, and its top 20 reflected that. ChatGPT's picks didn't follow review counts the same way:
- Named by ChatGPT and in Google's top 20: a median of about 300 Google reviews, across 16 businesses.
- Named by ChatGPT but outside Google's top 20: a median of about 70 reviews, across 27 businesses. Four more had no figure we could read.
- The smallest: a car workshop with four reviews and a 3.0 rating, and a law firm with none.
Our reading: review volume pushes you up Google's list, but ChatGPT names businesses it can read about. Our reviews tally found reviews matter most once a customer is choosing between the names.
Did ChatGPT cite Google Maps links when it recommended businesses?
ChatGPT cited no Google Maps links in this test. Its 16 answers carried 70 links. They pointed to business websites, directories for clinics, workshops and tuition centres, food and travel round-ups, the Malaysian Bar directory and a Lowyat forum thread.
ChatGPT still talked about Google ratings. Seven of the 16 answers quoted a Google rating or review count. Each time, the link beside it was the business's own website or a directory or review page, not Google, as in our reviews tally. Some were stale: one tuition centre was quoted with about half the reviews its Google listing showed on the day.
That fits what we saw across a much larger set of answers about Google Business Profiles: ChatGPT used a profile link rarely, and mostly to back a fact.
What can't this test tell me about ChatGPT and Google Maps?
- Your trade in your city. Each trade was one question in one city, asked twice. Answers vary between runs.
- The Maps app on your phone. We read Google's Places list in Google Search, from a browser in Petaling Jaya. The Maps app can order results differently, depending on where you are and the map view. This was one point in time.
- The ChatGPT app. We used OpenAI's API. The app can show its own maps and may draw on your past chats.
How do I get recommended by both ChatGPT and Google Maps?
Treat them as two jobs: Google ranks your listing, while ChatGPT names you from what it reads elsewhere.
- Request EasyFound's free check. See which businesses ChatGPT names when someone asks, say, "Any good tuition centre in Cheras for SPM maths and science? My son is in Form 4." Then go through it with us on a free call.
- Keep your Google Business Profile complete and keep asking happy customers for reviews. That is still how you climb Google's list.
- Describe your services and area on your own website, in plain sentences, such as "aircon leaking repair, Shah Alam and Klang".
- Get listed where ChatGPT looked for your trade. That might be a clinic or home-services directory, the Malaysian Bar directory, or a local food round-up.
- Update any rating you quote on your site. ChatGPT copied old figures from business pages.
EasyFound is an AI SEO service for Malaysian businesses. We check six AI tools in English, Malay and Chinese, and do the work that gets your business named in AI answers as well as found on the map.
Does ChatGPT name you, or just Google?
See which businesses ChatGPT names when customers ask for a business like yours, then go through it with us on a free call.
Frequently asked questions
If I'm number one on Google Maps, will ChatGPT recommend me?
Often, but not reliably. In EasyFound's October 2026 test of eight local Malaysian questions through OpenAI's API, ChatGPT named Google's first-placed business in four of the eight questions (three if we count only exact name matches). In the others, the top Google business was left out of both ChatGPT answers. ChatGPT picks from the web pages it finds, so a strong Google listing helps only if pages ChatGPT reads also describe your business.
Does ChatGPT use Google Maps to find local businesses?
Rarely as a source, in EasyFound's Malaysian tests through OpenAI's API. In this test's 16 answers to local questions, ChatGPT cited 70 links and none of them were Google Maps links; across a larger set of our answers it cited a Maps link or Business Profile in under one in 25. When it quoted a Google rating, the link beside it was the business's own website or a directory, and some of those figures were out of date. The ChatGPT app has its own map features, which this test didn't cover.
Why does ChatGPT recommend businesses with fewer Google reviews than mine?
Because ChatGPT doesn't rank by review count the way Google's local results do. In EasyFound's Malaysian test, the businesses ChatGPT named that were also in Google's top 20 had a median of about 300 Google reviews (16 businesses). The ones outside Google's top 20 had a median of about 70 (27 businesses; four more had no figure we could read), and one had just four. ChatGPT named businesses it could read about on websites, directories and round-up articles.
Which kinds of businesses does ChatGPT agree with Google Maps on?
In EasyFound's test, agreement was highest for the aircon service in Shah Alam and the physiotherapy clinic in Subang Jaya, where two of the four businesses ChatGPT named were in Google's top five (one, for physiotherapy, matched under a longer name). It was lowest for cafés in Johor Bahru, bakeries in Ipoh and property lawyers in KL, where only one named business in each was in Google's top five. Each trade was tested with one question in one city, so treat these as examples.
Should I stop working on my Google Business Profile because of ChatGPT?
No. Google's local results still send customers, and in EasyFound's test every one of the eight questions had at least one business that ChatGPT and Google's top five agreed on. Keep the profile complete and keep collecting reviews. Then add the step Google can't do for you: describe your services and area on your own website and on the directories your trade uses.
Sources
Our data: EasyFound, ChatGPT's local recommendations vs Google's top places in Malaysia, 8 October 2026. Eight local questions, written the way people type them (dentist in Petaling Jaya, aircon service in Shah Alam, car workshop in Penang, café in Johor Bahru, physiotherapy in Subang Jaya, tuition centre in Cheras, bakery in Ipoh, property lawyer in KL), each asked twice through OpenAI's Responses API (chat-latest, web search required, location set to Malaysia), not the ChatGPT app. For each, we read the Places list in Google Search for a short form of the same search (for example "aircon service Shah Alam"), with region set to Malaysia, in a browser located in Petaling Jaya, and recorded the top 20 places, leaving out sponsored ones. The Maps app on a phone can order these differently. We then looked up each business ChatGPT named for its Google rating and review count. Google rounds counts above 1,000 (for example "1.8K"). Four of the 47 had no rating or review count we could read, two names matched more than one branch, where we used the first listed, and one matched a listing under a longer name. Counting only exact name matches, nine (not ten) were in Google's top five and Google's first-placed business was named in three questions (not four). We counted a business once per question even if both runs named it. ChatGPT's own view of the question comes from two extra runs of the headline itself. Download the data (CSV). We don't name the businesses, because one test isn't a ranking.
Other sources:
- Google Business Profile Help, Tips to improve your local ranking on Google, read 8 October 2026 (link)
The data is shared under CC BY 4.0: you're free to reuse it, with credit to EasyFound.
ChatGPT and Google both change often; treat these figures as a dated measurement.
Research by Janice Pang, EasyFound.