If you ask ChatGPT for a roofer, plumber or HVAC company in Texas and look at the links under the answer, you'll see sites you've probably never heard of: ContractorsRanked, BestProsInTown, Birdeye review pages and a long tail of local "top rated" lists. They aren't Google, Yelp or Facebook. In our study, they were among the sites ChatGPT cited most.
This guide explains what these sites are, how often they showed up, what you can reasonably do about them, and how to avoid paying for something that doesn't help. As always: a citation shows ChatGPT read a page, not that the page decided who got named. And these sites change.
What we found
In November 2026 we read the public snapshots behind our Who AI Recommends pages: 390 Texas markets (a trade in a city) and 2,238 ChatGPT answers. Each market stored its ten most-cited websites. Across all of them:
| Site | Share of markets where ChatGPT cited it | Share of all answers citing it* |
|---|---|---|
| Angi | 78.5% | 40.9% |
| ContractorsRanked.com | 71.8% | 46.6% |
| Birdeye review pages (reviews.birdeye.com) | 52.3% | 24.1% |
| BestProsInTown.com | 41.5% | 18.5% |
| Thumbtack | 37.4% | 20.6% |
| HomeAdvisor | 31.8% | 11.9% |
| Expertise.com | 31.3% | 11.9% |
| BBB | 24.9% | 7.5% |
*Answers citing the site, out of 2,238; a lower bound for lower-ranked sites.
Third-party "best of" and ranking sites together accounted for about 39% of citations to those top-ten lists, the largest group. Marketplaces like Angi and Thumbtack were about 22%. ChatGPT cited Yelp and Facebook in none of the 390 markets. This is one AI engine, one day and Texas only.
What these sites are
We checked each site's own public pages. These are their descriptions, not audits.
ContractorsRanked ranks contractors in thousands of US and Canadian cities. It says each business gets a score out of 100 based on factors including Google reputation (25%) and license and insurance on file (15%), plus review volume and recency, and the site's own verified reviews. It says free and paid claims count the same, "no business can pay to move up," and paid placements appear in a separate "Featured" block. One factor (5%) rewards businesses that link back to the site from their own website (ContractorsRanked).
Birdeye review pages are a free consumer directory run by Birdeye (the review-software company). Profiles show ratings pulled from Google, Facebook and Yelp. Businesses can't edit or remove customer feedback, and the site says anyone can claim a free profile by entering the business name and location and verifying ownership (Birdeye).
BestProsInTown is a US and Canada directory and review aggregator. It has an "Add a Business" page and plans and pricing pages. We couldn't find how it ranks businesses or whether payment affects ranking, and the page didn't name an operator (BestProsInTown).
Besides these, we saw dozens of smaller local "top rated" lists, each in only a few markets. They are mostly built from public business data and public ratings.
Why this matters
The usual advice is "get more Google reviews." That is still sound. But look at what the pages in this table do with your reputation:
- Birdeye's pages re-publish your Google, Facebook and Yelp ratings. So your reviews can reach ChatGPT indirectly, even when ChatGPT doesn't cite Google itself. We haven't tested that, but it's consistent with what we see.
- ContractorsRanked scores things you control: a claimed profile, licensing, insurance, opening hours and reviews.
- These sites copy public data. If your phone number or address is wrong on Google, it can be wrong on all of them.
What you can do
1. Look yourself up
Search your business name on each site. See whether you're listed, and whether the details are right. Many of these sites list businesses automatically from public sources, so you may already have an unclaimed page.
2. Claim the free profiles
- Birdeye: click "Claim your free profile" on the site, enter your name and location, and verify ownership.
- ContractorsRanked: use its "List your business" page. Have your contractor license, bond and workers' comp details ready, since the site says it weighs them.
- BestProsInTown: claim the free listing only.
Keep the details identical to your Google profile: name, address, phone, website and hours.
3. Fix what feeds them
The biggest lever is the boring one: accurate Google, Yelp and Facebook profiles, and recent reviews. Those flow into aggregator pages. See how many reviews and how recent and the directories ChatGPT reads.
4. Show your credentials
If a site rewards license and insurance, make sure they're on file and visible on your own website too.
What to avoid
- Paying for "awards" or "featured" spots without checking how the list works. A paid placement isn't necessarily wrong, but you should know what you're buying, and whether the site separates paid and organic listings. We found no evidence that paying changes what ChatGPT says.
- "AI ranking" packages promising you'll be named by ChatGPT. Nobody can guarantee that. OpenAI itself says top placement can't be guaranteed.
- Fake or bought reviews. They break platform rules and the FTC's 2024 fake-review rule.
- Chasing every list. Pick the few that appear for your trade and city. Our public pages show them under "Websites AI read to decide," for example for roofers in Dallas or plumbers in Fort Worth.
How trades differ
The mix changes by trade. In our study, ContractorsRanked appeared in 87% of HVAC and pest control markets and 83% of plumbing markets. Birdeye pages were in 83% of house-cleaning markets. Houzz and BuildZoom led for general contractors. Reddit appeared in 95.7% of foundation-repair markets. Check your own trade and city before spending time.
Keep it in perspective
These sites change, and their influence on what ChatGPT says is unproven. They are worth an hour because claiming them is free and the work (correct details, licenses, reviews) helps with regular Google search and with customers who check several sites before calling.
FAQ
Is ContractorsRanked a pay-to-play site? By its own description, free and paid claims score the same and paid placements appear separately. We haven't audited that.
Do I need all three? No. Start with the ones that appear on the page for your trade and city.
Will claiming them get me named by ChatGPT? No one can promise that. It makes sure what these sites say about you is correct.
See which sites ChatGPT read about you. Run a free scan at localpickai.com. You'll see whether ChatGPT names you, who it names instead, the exact websites it read, and what to fix first. Free, no signup, about a minute.
