Index reports · October 2026

Who AI recommended for local services in October 2026.

Across 1888 sampled AI answers in October 2026 (20 trades, 20 US metros), 84% named at least one specific local business.

77% of sampled answers pointed the buyer to a directory such as Yelp or Angi instead of, or alongside, a business (n=1888).

3774 distinct businesses appeared across October 2026's sampled answers.

By trade (n per cut)

gutter cleaning companynamed a business 85% · directory 86% · n=100
masonry contractornamed a business 74% · directory 94% · n=100
pool cleaning servicenamed a business 83% · directory 88% · n=100
foundation repair companynamed a business 78% · directory 86% · n=100
asphalt paving contractornamed a business 81% · directory 84% · n=100
well drilling companynamed a business 84% · directory 52% · n=100
dumpster rental companynamed a business 96% · directory 12% · n=100
HVAC companynamed a business 90% · directory 94% · n=100
plumbernamed a business 89% · directory 88% · n=100
roofing companynamed a business 84% · directory 89% · n=100
electriciannamed a business 76% · directory 94% · n=100
concrete contractornamed a business 90% · directory 86% · n=100
septic servicenamed a business 93% · directory 53% · n=100
tree removal servicenamed a business 59% · directory 74% · n=96
pressure washing companynamed a business 79% · directory 84% · n=86
garage door repair companynamed a business 83% · directory 87% · n=86
junk removal companynamed a business 93% · directory 56% · n=80
towing companynamed a business 93% · directory 45% · n=80
fence companynamed a business 75% · directory 85% · n=80
handyman servicenamed a business 91% · directory 96% · n=80

By metro (n per cut)

Kansas City, MO: 86% named · n=95Austin, TX: 88% named · n=95Dallas, TX: 89% named · n=95Phoenix, AZ: 88% named · n=95Charlotte, NC: 81% named · n=95Denver, CO: 85% named · n=95Tampa, FL: 87% named · n=95San Antonio, TX: 85% named · n=95Indianapolis, IN: 82% named · n=94Jacksonville, FL: 85% named · n=94Raleigh, NC: 73% named · n=94Oklahoma City, OK: 80% named · n=94Atlanta, GA: 80% named · n=94Chicago, IL: 80% named · n=94Houston, TX: 84% named · n=94Columbus, OH: 84% named · n=94Miami, FL: 84% named · n=94Nashville, TN: 81% named · n=94Orlando, FL: 81% named · n=94Las Vegas, NV: 88% named · n=94

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, October 2026”. Questions and raw-capture requests: [email protected].

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