Fremont Chamber of Commerce (Seattle, WA) ChatGPT Visibility Research

Overview

This research examines how Fremont Chamber member businesses appeared in ChatGPT responses when consumers asked for local recommendations.

137 eligible businesses were tested across 855 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 16, 2026. ChatGPT answers can change. This study measures which businesses entered the AI-generated shortlist at that moment — not future guaranteed mentions.

Key Findings

53% of Fremont Chamber businesses (73 of 137) were mentioned at least once.

39% had strong visibility (appeared in multiple relevant responses), 14% had limited visibility (appeared once), and 47% were not named in any tested response.

Discovery questions (like "best florist in Seattle") produced a 45% mention rate. Recommendation questions (like "Who should I see for a dentist?") produced a 43% mention rate.

Category Performance

Visibility varied by category. Health, Beauty & Fitness performed best at 95%, while arts & entertainment businesses had the lowest visibility at 42%.

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

Example Responses

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

• "I'm in Seattle — shop near me" → PCC Community Markets, Caffe Vita
• "Who should I see for cafe in Seattle?" → Caffe Vita
• "best restaurant in Seattle" → Canlis, The Walrus and the Carpenter, JuneBaby, Shiro's Sushi, Spinasse (no Fremont Chamber business appeared)

Spotlight: "best restaurant in Seattle"

When asked "best restaurant in Seattle", ChatGPT named Canlis, The Walrus and the Carpenter, JuneBaby, Shiro's Sushi, Spinasse.

No eligible restaurant in the benchmark appeared.

Methodology

Businesses were sourced from the Fremont Chamber of Commerce public directory. National chains, businesses without websites, and civic listings were excluded so the benchmark reflects local independent businesses.

This benchmark uses the 224 listings in the Fremont Chamber of Commerce directory extract on October 15, 2026. Chamber members can sit outside Fremont. This list is separate from the Ballard Alliance study.

855 ChatGPT questions were asked across 278 unique prompts. Questions were matched to each business's category and pinned to Seattle at the city level.

Each business received approximately 6 questions. Questions were not averaged across multiple runs. This study used ChatGPT (OpenAI) on October 16, 2026.

Of the 224 listings, 16 had no usable website: 13 had no website listed, and 3 listed only Facebook or Google. Another 45 were not eligible: 20 national or multi-location chains and 25 civic or institutional listings. Of the 163 eligible members, 26 could not be confidently matched to a Seattle Google Business Profile and were not asked, leaving 137 scored. That includes matches in other cities, matches to a different business, and one preschool. Chamber members outside Fremont stayed in when their Google match was in Seattle; members whose match was in another city were not scored. Questions were pinned to Seattle at the city level. They were not restricted to Fremont, and no extra map-pin or login location was applied. Each question was asked in one run.

This is a point-in-time benchmark of the ChatGPT responses tested on October 16, 2026. This study uses the 224 listings in the Fremont Chamber of Commerce directory extract from October 15, 2026. 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 Fremont Chamber 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 Fremont Chamber members may want to understand.

CLIXERA can walk Fremont Chamber 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.