Original Study · 15 Aug 2026
Businesses With 500+ Google Reviews Had 6.7× the OpenAI Mention Rate of Those With Under 10
We tested 500 US plumbing businesses. The 500+ review group had a 23.4% mention rate versus 3.5% below 10 reviews, and the relationship remained after city and query differences were considered.
- Study sample
- 500 businesses
- Measured outcome
- Business recommendations
- AI platform
- OpenAI
What this means for marketers
Build review growth into your local SEO process. Ask consistently, follow Google’s policies, and keep your business details aligned across your site and public profiles.
- Ask customers for reviews consistently and stay within Google’s policies.
- Keep your name, address, phone number, and services consistent across your site and profiles.
- Update service areas and business details whenever they change.
- Make review growth a core local visibility KPI.
- Track the same set of AI queries over time. One screenshot tells you very little.
What we tested
Do plumbers with more Google reviews appear more often when a search-enabled AI recommends local businesses? The study covered 500 businesses.
What the result does not prove
Treat this as a visibility priority to test in your own market, not a guarantee from any single prompt or platform session.
- This was an observational study. Other differences between businesses may explain part of the pattern.
- We studied one industry, 50 US markets, one model, and one collection period.
- AI answers change over time and may differ across tools and interfaces.
- Review counts came from public profiles, not first-party business records.