We Ran the Same Query on 6 Search Engines: The Results Were Wild

Picture this: you type “best plumber near me” into Google, and you get a map pack with three local businesses, a few ads, and ten blue links. Simple enough. But what happens when you ask the exact same question to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Bing, and Claude?

We did exactly that. And the results were, frankly, all over the place.

The Experiment

We picked a straightforward local service query: “best plumber in Austin, TX.” Then we ran it across six platforms on the same day, at the same time, from the same location. No tricks, no prompt engineering, just a clean search.

Here is what we used:

1. Google (traditional search)
2. Bing
3. ChatGPT Search
4. Perplexity
5. Google Gemini
6. Claude

The goal was simple. See who gets recommended, where the data comes from, and whether a small business would even show up.

Google: The Familiar Giant

Google gave us exactly what you would expect. Three map pack results (all with 4.5+ star ratings and hundreds of reviews), a couple of Local Service Ads at the top, and then organic results dominated by listicle sites like Yelp, Angi, and Thumbtack.

The actual plumbing businesses? They were mostly buried beneath aggregator sites in the organic results. The map pack was the only real estate where local businesses had direct visibility.

If you have been following our coverage on how the map pack works, none of this is surprising.

Bing: Google’s Quieter Cousin

Bing’s results looked surprisingly similar to Google’s. A map section at the top, followed by directory sites. But the businesses in Bing’s map pack were different from Google’s. Two of the three plumbers that appeared in Bing’s local results did not show up in Google’s top three at all.

This matters more than you think. With Bing powering parts of ChatGPT Search, the businesses that invest in Bing Places are getting a secondary advantage most competitors ignore.

ChatGPT Search: The Conversational Answer

ChatGPT Search took a completely different approach. Instead of a list of links, it provided a paragraph recommending three plumbing companies by name. It cited their Google reviews, mentioned specialties, and even noted which ones offered 24/7 emergency service.

Here is the kicker: one of the three businesses ChatGPT recommended did not appear in Google’s top 20 organic results. It did, however, have a well-structured website with clear service descriptions and strong review signals across multiple platforms.

We covered the mechanics of this in our post on how to get your business cited in AI search answers. The takeaway holds true. AI engines reward clarity and structured content, not just traditional ranking signals.

Perplexity: The Research Engine

Perplexity gave us the most detailed response. It listed five plumbers with brief descriptions, pulled data from multiple sources (Yelp, Google, BBB, and individual websites), and included citations for every claim.

What stood out was the sourcing. Perplexity pulled from the businesses’ own websites when those sites had clear, well-organized content. One plumber got cited specifically because their “About” page included their years in business, service areas, and licensing information.

If you are not familiar with how Perplexity is reshaping local discovery, our breakdown of its growth is worth revisiting.

Gemini: Google’s AI Layer

Gemini provided a conversational summary similar to ChatGPT’s, but it leaned heavily on Google’s own data. The businesses it recommended were almost identical to Google’s map pack results. It also included star ratings and review counts inline.

The interesting part? Gemini added context that Google’s traditional results did not. It mentioned which plumber was “best for older homes” and which one “specializes in tankless water heater installation.” That kind of nuance suggests Gemini is reading deeper into website content and reviews to form opinions.

Claude: The Cautious Advisor

Claude was upfront that it could not perform real-time searches. Instead, it offered general advice on how to find a good plumber in Austin, including checking the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, reading reviews across multiple platforms, and asking for quotes from at least three companies.

It did not recommend specific businesses. This is an important distinction for business owners to understand. Not every AI platform works the same way, and some will funnel users toward directories rather than direct recommendations.

What This Means for Your Business

The fragmentation is real. If you are only optimizing for Google, you are missing potential customers on at least four other platforms that are growing fast.

Here are the actionable takeaways:

• Your website content matters more than ever. AI engines pull directly from your site. Clear service descriptions, location pages, and structured data make you citable. We dug into this in our post on content strategy for small business.
• Reviews are table stakes across every platform. Every single engine we tested weighted reviews heavily. Not just Google reviews, but Yelp, BBB, and industry-specific platforms too.
• Directory listings still matter. Even in the AI search era, platforms like Perplexity and ChatGPT pull from directories. Make sure your citations and directory listings are consistent and complete.
• Structured data is your secret weapon. The businesses that showed up most consistently across all six engines had one thing in common: clean, well-structured websites with schema markup.

The Bottom Line

Search is not one thing anymore. It is six things, and counting. The businesses that win in 2025 are the ones that stop thinking about “ranking on Google” and start thinking about “being findable everywhere.”

That means building a web presence that is clear, authoritative, and structured enough for any engine (human or AI) to understand and recommend.

Want help making your business visible across every search platform that matters? Get in touch with us and we will build a strategy that covers all your bases.