129 businesses · Ottawa · September 2026
Point-in-time ChatGPT visibility research for Preston Street BIA. 129 businesses analyzed, 42% mentioned at least once, 58% not visible in tested responses. Prepared by CLIXERA for BIA outreach and community workshops.
This research examines how Preston Street BIA businesses appeared in ChatGPT responses when consumers asked for local recommendations.
129 eligible businesses were tested across 782 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 September 10, 2026. ChatGPT answers can change. This study measures which businesses entered the AI-generated shortlist at that moment — not future guaranteed mentions.
129
Businesses analyzed
782
ChatGPT questions asked
42%
At least one mention
58%
Not visible in test
42% of Preston Street businesses (54 of 129) were mentioned at least once.
32% had strong visibility (appeared in multiple relevant responses), 10% had limited visibility (appeared once), and 58% were not named in any tested response.
Discovery questions (like "best florist in Ottawa") produced a 36% mention rate. Recommendation questions (like "Who should I see for a dentist?") produced a 33% mention rate.
42%
Mentioned at least once
32%
Strong visibility
10%
Limited visibility
58%
Not visible
Visibility varied by category. Health, Beauty & Fitness performed best at 48%, while shopping businesses had the lowest visibility at 18%.
These category rates show which types of Preston Street businesses entered ChatGPT's shortlist most consistently in this test.
| Category | Businesses | Mention Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Food & Drink | 53 | 43% |
| Health, Beauty & Fitness | 33 | 48% |
| Financial & Professional Services | 31 | 39% |
| Shopping | 11 | 18% |
| Other | 1 | 100% |
Below are sample ChatGPT answers from the test. These examples show which Preston Street businesses were named — and which questions returned no Preston Street businesses at all.
Businesses were sourced from the Preston Street BIA public directory. National chains, businesses without websites, and civic listings were excluded so the benchmark reflects local independent businesses.
782 ChatGPT questions were asked across 115 unique prompts. Questions were matched to each business's category and pinned to Ottawa at the city level.
Each business received approximately 6 questions. Questions were not averaged across multiple runs. This study used ChatGPT (OpenAI gpt-4o) on September 10, 2026.
This is a point-in-time benchmark. ChatGPT answers can change with question wording, model updates, and time. Businesses not named in these answers are not proven to be permanently invisible.
If a customer's shortlist is built in ChatGPT, neighbourhood 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 BIA members may want to understand.
CLIXERA can walk BIA 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.
