Which AI assistants do local customers use?

You run a shop, a clinic, or a service company in the Twin Cities. You keep hearing that customers ask AI for recommendations. You want to know which tools matter so you can stop guessing.

Here is the short answer. ChatGPT and Gemini are the two assistants people name most for local information. But many customers also meet AI without looking for it, inside Google results. So the real list is longer than two names.

One note on the data. The best recent numbers come from a national survey, not a Minnesota one. I found no source that splits these results by Minneapolis or St. Paul. Treat the numbers as a guide to the country, then test your own market with the steps below.

What the 2026 Local Discovery Index says about ChatGPT and Gemini

The main source is SOCi's 2026 Local Discovery Index. SOCi is a local marketing software company. It publishes its findings on its marketing statistics page, which says the figures come from its own studies.

That makes it a vendor survey. Read it as one data point, not the final word. Still, it is recent, and it asks the question you are asking.

Here is what it reported for U.S. consumers:

• 52% used an AI tool to find a local business in the last 30 days, up from 9% in 2025.
• Among people who use AI assistants, 57% name ChatGPT as one they use for local information. That made it the most-used assistant in the study.
• 51% of those users name Gemini.

Notice that these shares add up to more than 100. That is because people name more than one tool. A customer might ask ChatGPT in the morning and Gemini on their phone at lunch. So you should not pick one assistant and ignore the rest.

The assistants you do not choose: AI inside Google

Many of your customers never open an AI app. They just search Google, and an AI answer appears at the top.

Google calls these features AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google's own guide for site owners explains how they work and how your content can be included. For a local business, this may be the most common way a customer meets AI. They did not choose it. It simply showed up.

This is why the Gemini number matters beyond the Gemini app. Google's AI features sit inside the search box your customers already use. If you have done the basics of search well, you are already working on this channel.

AI is a first step, not the last one

Do not picture a customer asking AI and then booking on the spot. The same SOCi data shows people double-check. Its summary describes a "verification loop," where discovery in one place gets cross-checked in others. According to SOCi's figures, 83% of U.S. consumers use search engines to discover local businesses, and 99% read reviews to verify.

The survey also reports that 20% of people who use AI for local recommendations look at the business's social media after an AI tool suggests it.

What does this mean for you? An AI tool may name your business. Then the customer checks your reviews, your website, and your social pages. If those look thin or out of date, the lead can end there.

A simple test for your own Twin Cities market

National numbers are a guide. Your customers are what count. Here is a test you can run in under an hour.

Step 1: Ask the questions a customer would ask

Write five plain questions. Use your service and your place. For example: "Who is a good plumber in Edina?" or "Best dentist near St. Louis Park that takes new patients."

Step 2: Ask in more than one tool

Run the same five questions in ChatGPT and Gemini. Then run them in Google and look for an AI answer at the top. Use a phone as well as a computer, since customers use both.

Step 3: Write down what you see

Make a simple note for each question:

• Is your business named?
• Which competitors are named?
• Are the hours, address, and services correct?
• Which websites does the tool seem to pull from?

Wrong facts are the easiest thing to fix. If an assistant shows an old phone number or the wrong hours, the source is often an outdated listing or an old page on your site.

Step 4: Ask your customers

This step is free and beats any survey. Add one line to your intake form or your front-desk routine: "How did you find us?" Add AI tools as an answer choice. After a few months you will have real local data.

What to fix first

You do not need a different plan for each assistant. The tools draw on the same public web. A few steps cover most of it:

1. Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current.
2. Make sure your name, address, and phone number match everywhere they appear.
3. Put clear service and location information on your own website, in plain sentences.
4. Ask happy customers for reviews, and reply to them.
5. Keep your social pages active enough that a curious customer finds something recent.

Google's guide also says that normal SEO best practices still apply to its AI features. That is good news. You do not need a trick. You need accurate, helpful pages that are easy to read.

Questions owners ask about AI assistants

Do I need to pick one assistant to focus on?

No. The survey shows people name several tools. Fix your basic information once and it helps across all of them.

Is the survey data true for Minnesota?

I cannot say. The survey is national and I found no Twin Cities breakdown. That is why the test above matters. Your own results tell you more than a national average does.

Should I stop worrying about Google?

No. In the same survey, 83% of consumers still use search engines to discover local businesses. AI adds a channel. It has not replaced the old one.

Where to start this week

Run the five-question test, write down the results, and fix any wrong facts you find. Then start asking customers how they found you.

If you want a second opinion, Ellment Creative is a web design and search visibility studio in St. Louis Park, and it offers a Website and AI-readiness audit for $99 one time.