Study · 08 Sep 2026
We asked Google's Gemini the five questions a buyer types when choosing a dentist, HVAC company, plumber, personal injury lawyer in 15 US cities. 300 answers. We logged every business each answer named and every website the engine cited. The #1 business in a city is named in 85% of that city's answers. Reddit is cited in 60% of all answers. Yelp: 0 citations.
Answers analysed
300
4 trades × 15 cities × 5 questions
Names per answer
6.8
the whole shelf a buyer sees
#1 business named in
85%
of its city's answers, on average
Reddit cited in
60%
of answers · Yelp in 0
4 trades × 15 cities (Austin, Phoenix, Denver, Nashville, Charlotte, Tampa, Columbus, Indianapolis, Raleigh, Sacramento, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Boise, Tucson). Five unbranded buyer questions per city, written the way a person types them: "best dentist in Austin", "which dentist in Austin should I go to? recommend a few", "top rated dentist in Austin according to reviews", "affordable but good dentist in Austin", "most trusted dentist near Austin right now". Gemini with Google Search grounding, one run per question, 08 Sep 2026. Business names were extracted from each answer by a second model pass and merged across spellings; citations come from the engine's own grounding metadata. One engine, one run: a business at 0 of 5 was not named that day, which is not the same as never.
Quote: "Owners still ask whether they rank on Google. The buyer has moved on to a question with 6.8 answers, and in most cities the same two or three businesses are in nearly every one of them." — Naveen Khattak, founder, AnswerVue
Contact: naveen@getvetrelay.com · Any trade, any city, within 24 hours.
HVAC company
Sources cited, share of answers: Reddit 88%, Facebook 16%, YouTube 11%, Angi 8%, Expertise.com 7%, BBB 3%, ThreeBestRated 3%.
| City | Distinct businesses named | #1 (answers named in) | #2 | #3 | Top-3 share of mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | 22 | Alamo Austin Air 4/5 | Coolest 3 | Precision Heating Air 3 | 27% |
| Boise | 18 | A1 Heating Air Conditioning Electric 5/5 | Western Heating Air Conditioning 4 | Peppy Heating Cooling 4 | 37% |
| Charlotte | 20 | Horne Heating And Air Conditioning 4/5 | Mcclintock Heating Cooling 3 | Acosta Heating Cooling Electrical 3 | 29% |
| Columbus | 27 | Hetter Heating Cooling 4/5 | Fire Ice Heating And Air Conditioning 3 | Atlas Butler Heating Cooling 3 | 26% |
| Denver | 24 | Brothers Plumbing Heating Electric 4/5 | Roots Heating Air 3 | Weather Changers 3 | 24% |
| Indianapolis | 19 | Howald Heating Air Conditioning Plumbing 5/5 | Williams Comfort Air 3 | Appel Heating Air Conditioning 3 | 35% |
| Kansas City | 28 | Blue Heating And Cooling 5/5 | Top Notch Heating Cooling Plumbing 5 | Summit Heating Cooling Plumbing 4 | 29% |
| Nashville | 21 | Jewell Mechanical 4/5 | Cumberland Cooling 4 | Mj Frick 3 | 32% |
| Phoenix | 22 | Parker Sons 4/5 | Goettl Air Conditioning Plumbing 3 | Howard Air Plumbing 3 | 30% |
| Pittsburgh | 32 | Wade Heating Cooling 4/5 | Air Pro Heating Cooling 4 | White Heating 3 | 22% |
| Raleigh | 24 | Comfort Monster Heating Air 5/5 | Air Experts Heating Cooling 4 | All American Heating Air Plumbing 3 | 29% |
| Sacramento | 20 | Jaguar Heating Air 5/5 | Mitsubishi 4 | Fox Family Heating Air Conditioning 3 | 34% |
| Salt Lake City | 31 | Pro Care Heating And Air 3/5 | Blue Best Plumbing Heating Air Generators 3 | Whipple 3 | 22% |
| Tampa | 19 | Comfort Authority 5/5 | Air Masters Of Tampa Bay 4 | Kennys Air Conditioning Heating Services 4 | 32% |
| Tucson | 21 | Hamstra Heating Cooling 5/5 | Samson And Sons Heating Cooling 3 | Dh Air Conditioning Heating Plumbing 2 | 31% |
dentist
Sources cited, share of answers: Reddit 63%, Zocdoc 37%, Healthgrades 36%, Facebook 17%, ThreeBestRated 3%.
| City | Distinct businesses named | #1 (answers named in) | #2 | #3 | Top-3 share of mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | 25 | Enamel Dentistry 4/5 | Forest Family Dentistry 3 | Walden Dental 3 | 27% |
| Boise | 25 | Boise Family Dental Care 5/5 | Summit Dental Group 4 | Value Dental Of Boise 3 | 32% |
| Charlotte | 30 | Dr Brian Williams 3/5 | Charlotte Dentistry 3 | Southpark Dental And Oral Care 3 | 24% |
| Columbus | 21 | Firouzian Dentistry 3/5 | Oak Creek Dental Care 3 | Capital City Dental 2 | 28% |
| Denver | 24 | Litvak Woller Esthetic Comprehensive Dentistry 4/5 | Metropolitan Dental Care 3 | Og Dental 2 | 27% |
| Indianapolis | 29 | Martin Dentistry 4/5 | Smilecentric East 3 | Hall Family Dentistry 3 | 26% |
| Kansas City | 30 | Evers Gardner Dental 4/5 | Koehn Dentistry Aesthetics 4 | Nkc Dental 3 | 28% |
| Nashville | 23 | Dentistry Of Nashville 4/5 | Belle Meade Family Dentistry 4 | Green Hills Family Dentistry 3 | 28% |
| Phoenix | 35 | Harris Dental 3/5 | Invisalign 3 | Downtown Phoenix Dental 3 | 18% |
| Pittsburgh | 34 | Atlas Dental Specialists 3/5 | Warwick Dentistry 3 | Pgh Dental Wellness 2 | 19% |
| Raleigh | 22 | Russo Dentistry 4/5 | Renaissance Dental Center 3 | Sunrise Dental 3 | 30% |
| Sacramento | 31 | Midtown Dental 4/5 | Miyasaki Dental 4 | Dentistry Of East Sacramento 4 | 25% |
| Salt Lake City | 26 | Foothill Dental 5/5 | Salt Lake Dental 3 | Natural Smiles Dentistry 3 | 29% |
| Tampa | 30 | Ismile Dentistry 4/5 | South Tampa Dentistry 3 | Heights Dental Tampa 3 | 24% |
| Tucson | 24 | Advanced Family Dentistry 4/5 | Smile Perfection 4 | Dr Dalesandro Associates 3 | 31% |
personal injury lawyer
Sources cited, share of answers: Justia 69%, Super Lawyers 59%, Reddit 15%, Facebook 4%, FindLaw 4%, YouTube 3%, Expertise.com 1%.
| City | Distinct businesses named | #1 (answers named in) | #2 | #3 | Top-3 share of mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | 15 | Joe Lopez Law 5/5 | Winckler Harvey Mcconnell Llp 3 | Shaw Cowart Attorneys At Law Llp 3 | 42% |
| Boise | 16 | Hepworth Holzer Llp 5/5 | Litster Frost Injury Lawyers 5 | Law Offices Of Matthew G Gunn 2 | 43% |
| Charlotte | 19 | Demayo Law Offices 5/5 | Brown Moore Associates 4 | Olsinski Law Firm 4 | 39% |
| Columbus | 17 | Donahey Law Firm 4/5 | Schiff Associates 4 | Kisling Nestico Redick Knr 4 | 40% |
| Denver | 14 | Bachus Schanker 5/5 | Ramos Law 5 | Burg Simpson Eldredge Hersh Jardine 4 | 47% |
| Indianapolis | 14 | Wilson Kehoe Winingham Wkw 4/5 | Hurst Limontes 4 | Yosha Law 4 | 38% |
| Kansas City | 27 | Law Office Of Kevin J Mcmanus 3/5 | Davis Bethune Jones 2 | Shamberg Johnson Bergman Chtd 2 | 21% |
| Nashville | 12 | Law Offices Of John Day 5/5 | Rocky Mcelhaney Law Firm 5 | Matt Hardin Law 4 | 50% |
| Phoenix | 16 | Ramos Law 5/5 | Kelly Law Team 5 | Gallagher Kennedy 3 | 41% |
| Pittsburgh | 14 | Lupetin Unatin 5/5 | Edgar Snyder Associates 5 | Shenderovich Shenderovich Fishman 4 | 50% |
| Raleigh | 11 | Hardison Cochran 5/5 | Edwards Kirby Llp 4 | Whitley Law Firm 4 | 50% |
| Sacramento | 11 | Demas Law Group 5/5 | Ashton Price Llp 4 | Eason Tambornini A Law Corporation 4 | 54% |
| Salt Lake City | 17 | Cutt Kendell Olson 5/5 | Robert J Debry Associates 4 | Younker Hyde Macfarlane 3 | 40% |
| Tampa | 18 | Alley Clark Greiwe 4/5 | Wagner Mclaughlin Whittemore 4 | Morgan Morgan 4 | 32% |
| Tucson | 18 | Hollingsworth Kelly Law Firm 4/5 | Rockafellow Law Firm 4 | Husband Wife Law Team 3 | 37% |
plumber
Sources cited, share of answers: Reddit 76%, Expertise.com 33%, Facebook 24%, Angi 23%, Thumbtack 11%, BBB 3%, ThreeBestRated 3%, YouTube 3%.
| City | Distinct businesses named | #1 (answers named in) | #2 | #3 | Top-3 share of mentions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | 15 | Clarke Kent Plumbing 4/5 | Reliant Plumbing 4 | Abacus Plumbing Air Conditioning Electrical 3 | 39% |
| Boise | 20 | Cloverdale Plumbing 4/5 | Boise Family Plumbing 3 | Proficient Plumbing Service 3 | 32% |
| Charlotte | 19 | Wyattworks Plumbing 5/5 | Rideout Plumbing 4 | Winns Plumbing 3 | 40% |
| Columbus | 19 | Local Plumber 4/5 | Parson Plumbing Drains 4 | 1tomplumber 3 | 34% |
| Denver | 25 | Christophers Plumbing 3/5 | Blue Sky Plumbing Heating Cooling Electric 3 | High 5 Plumbing Heating Cooling Electric 2 | 25% |
| Indianapolis | 16 | Carters My Plumber 4/5 | Penn Plumbing 4 | Ars Rescue Rooter Indiana 3 | 37% |
| Kansas City | 19 | Poor Johns Plumbing 5/5 | Stinenichols Plumbing 4 | Anthony Plumbing Heating Cooling Electric 3 | 36% |
| Nashville | 20 | Wehby Plumbing 5/5 | Morton Plumbing Heating Cooling 4 | Hoffmann Brothers 4 | 39% |
| Phoenix | 17 | Aussie Plumber 3/5 | Az Family Plumbing 3 | Robins Plumbing 2 | 33% |
| Pittsburgh | 21 | Chris Driscoll Plumbing 4/5 | Wj Mcnabb Plumbing 4 | Cuccaro Plumbing 3 | 33% |
| Raleigh | 15 | Matthews Plumbing Solutions 4/5 | Arcane Plumbing Solutions 4 | Cks Plumbing Backflow 3 | 41% |
| Sacramento | 22 | Platero Parada Plumbing 4/5 | Sacramento Plumbing Solutions 4 | Jr Putman Plumbing 4 | 35% |
| Salt Lake City | 20 | Millcreek Plumbing 5/5 | Valley Plumbing Heating Cooling 4 | Bumble Bee Plumbing 3 | 38% |
| Tampa | 12 | Everydayplumbercom 5/5 | Olin Plumbing 4 | Premium Plumbing 3 | 48% |
| Tucson | 19 | Cummings Plumbing Heating And Cooling 3/5 | Cals Plumbing 3 | Plumber Of Tucson 3 | 30% |
Type your business, "dentist in Austin", up to three competitors. Five questions, one engine, two minutes. Free.