Index reports · September 2026

Who AI recommended for local services in September 2026.

Across 1824 sampled AI answers in September 2026 (20 trades, 20 US metros), 86% named at least one specific local business.

60% of sampled answers pointed the buyer to a directory such as Yelp or Angi instead of, or alongside, a business (n=1824).

2590 distinct businesses appeared across September 2026's sampled answers.

By trade (n per cut)

concrete contractornamed a business 87% · directory 68% · n=100
septic servicenamed a business 81% · directory 38% · n=100
tree removal servicenamed a business 76% · directory 48% · n=100
garage door repair companynamed a business 87% · directory 70% · n=100
junk removal companynamed a business 91% · directory 36% · n=100
towing companynamed a business 95% · directory 34% · n=100
fence companynamed a business 82% · directory 71% · n=100
handyman servicenamed a business 81% · directory 82% · n=100
electriciannamed a business 86% · directory 77% · n=98
pressure washing companynamed a business 80% · directory 73% · n=94
plumbernamed a business 93% · directory 74% · n=91
HVAC companynamed a business 88% · directory 76% · n=91
roofing companynamed a business 86% · directory 76% · n=90
gutter cleaning companynamed a business 85% · directory 64% · n=80
masonry contractornamed a business 80% · directory 74% · n=80
pool cleaning servicenamed a business 89% · directory 68% · n=80
foundation repair companynamed a business 83% · directory 69% · n=80
asphalt paving contractornamed a business 84% · directory 64% · n=80
well drilling companynamed a business 91% · directory 39% · n=80
dumpster rental companynamed a business 94% · directory 1% · n=80

By metro (n per cut)

Nashville, TN: 82% named · n=93Las Vegas, NV: 89% named · n=93Miami, FL: 89% named · n=93Orlando, FL: 84% named · n=93Charlotte, NC: 87% named · n=92Indianapolis, IN: 82% named · n=92Austin, TX: 90% named · n=92Kansas City, MO: 90% named · n=92Jacksonville, FL: 83% named · n=92Oklahoma City, OK: 84% named · n=92Raleigh, NC: 82% named · n=92Columbus, OH: 87% named · n=90Chicago, IL: 90% named · n=90Houston, TX: 86% named · n=90Denver, CO: 90% named · n=90Atlanta, GA: 87% named · n=90San Antonio, TX: 80% named · n=90Tampa, FL: 86% named · n=90Dallas, TX: 88% named · n=89Phoenix, AZ: 83% named · n=89

Methodology

Engines sampled: deepseek(model knowledge; engine labeled on every capture). Nightly scheduled prompts of the form “What are the best [trade] options in [metro]?” across 20 trades and 20metros. Deterministic parsing, no LLM grading. Statistics frozen at publication; cuts under n=5 are dropped, not shown. Cite with attribution (CC-BY) as “RankNext Local AI Visibility Index, September 2026”. Questions and raw-capture requests: [email protected].

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