Elmwood Village Association (Buffalo, NY) ChatGPT Visibility Research

Overview

This research examines how Elmwood Village neighborhood businesses appeared in ChatGPT responses when consumers asked for local recommendations.

42 eligible businesses were tested across 264 questions. Each business received category-matched prompts designed to reflect the kinds of queries a consumer might actually ask.

This is a point-in-time benchmark collected on October 15, 2026. ChatGPT answers can change. This study measures which businesses entered the AI-generated shortlist at that moment — not future guaranteed mentions.

Key Findings

45% of Elmwood Village businesses (19 of 42) were mentioned at least once.

40% had strong visibility (appeared in multiple relevant responses), 5% had limited visibility (appeared once), and 55% were not named in any tested response.

Discovery questions (like "best florist in Buffalo") produced a 45% mention rate. Recommendation questions (like "Who should I see for a dentist?") produced a 38% mention rate.

Category Performance

Visibility varied by category. Shopping performed best at 58%, while food & drink businesses had the lowest visibility at 38%.

These category rates show which types of Elmwood Village businesses entered ChatGPT's shortlist most consistently in this test.

Example Responses

Below are sample ChatGPT answers from the test. These examples show which Elmwood Village businesses were named — and which questions returned no Elmwood Village businesses at all.

• "best shop in Buffalo" → Talking Leaves Books, Thin Ice
• "Who should I see for restaurant in Buffalo?" → Lloyd Taco Factory
• "best entertainment in Buffalo" → Shea's Performing Arts Center, Irish Classical Theatre Company, Kavinoky Theatre, Town Ballroom, Tralf Music Hall (no Elmwood Village business appeared)

Spotlight: "best entertainment in Buffalo"

When asked "best entertainment in Buffalo", ChatGPT named Shea's Performing Arts Center, Irish Classical Theatre Company, Kavinoky Theatre, Town Ballroom, Tralf Music Hall.

No eligible performance venue in the benchmark appeared.

Methodology

Businesses were sourced from the Elmwood Village Association public directory. National chains, businesses without websites, and civic listings were excluded so the benchmark reflects local independent businesses.

This benchmark uses the 169 listings in the Elmwood Village Association directory extract on October 15, 2026. The directory publishes names and linked websites only.

264 ChatGPT questions were asked across 108 unique prompts. Questions were matched to each business's category and pinned to Buffalo at the city level.

Each business received approximately 6 questions. Questions were not averaged across multiple runs. This study used ChatGPT (OpenAI) on October 15, 2026.

Of the 169 listings, 112 had no usable website: 110 had no website listed, and 2 listed only Facebook. Another 11 were not eligible: 3 national or multi-location chains and 8 civic or institutional listings. Of the 46 eligible members, 4 could not be matched to a Buffalo Google Business Profile and were not asked, leaving 42 scored. Because the directory lists only names and websites, categories were assigned from business names, and Google matching used each name plus Buffalo, NY. The Other row combines financial services (4 businesses), arts (2), hotels (2), and health (2), since each was under the five-business minimum for its own category. Each question was asked in one run, pinned to Buffalo at the city level, not restricted to Elmwood Village.

This is a point-in-time benchmark of the ChatGPT responses tested on October 15, 2026. This study uses the 169 listings in the Elmwood Village Association directory extract from that day. Scores are the share of scored members named in those answers. ChatGPT answers can change. This is not a guarantee of future mentions, and it does not mean an unnamed business can never appear.

What This Means for Elmwood Village Association Members

If a customer's shortlist is built in ChatGPT, neighborhood independents that never appear may never get considered.

This research does not claim that appearing in ChatGPT causes a purchase, nor does it prove that an unnamed business cannot succeed. It identifies an emerging layer of local discovery that Elmwood Village Association members may want to understand.

CLIXERA can walk Elmwood Village Association members through these findings in a short workshop or lunch-and-learn. This page is the leave-behind — contact CLIXERA if you want to schedule a community session.