The 2026 AI Visibility Report by Insites shows review volume and website content are the real drivers of AI recommendations, not technical SEO.
DERBY, DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, May 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Insites, the digital marketing analysis platform used by agencies worldwide, has published the 2026 AI Visibility Report: How AI Chooses Local Businesses, a correlation study of 10,000 businesses across ChatGPT and Perplexity examining over 200 digital marketing signals against real AI outcomes.
The report, authored by Andrew Waite, CEO of Insites, reveals a significant gap between how businesses have traditionally approached their online presence and what AI systems actually use to surface and recommend them to customers.
The research found that while 93% of local businesses are known by AI, only 55% have accurate details, with AI actively hallucinating information about the rest. A business’s own website was cited in 72% of awareness queries, making it the single most important source AI draws on.
The strongest correlating signals with AI visibility were Google review volume, Google Business Profile completeness and Local Pack presence. Businesses found by both ChatGPT and Perplexity averaged 133 Google reviews compared to just 11 for those invisible to AI. Businesses appearing in the Local Pack were recommended 3.5 times more often than those that were not.
Website depth and freshness also showed a strong correlation. Businesses visible to AI had more than double the number of website pages on average, and sites that had not been updated recently were significantly less likely to appear in AI recommendations.
At the other end of the scale, the signals that showed the weakest or no meaningful correlation with AI recommendations included technical SEO factors, Core Web Vitals, page speed, structured data and tactics specifically associated with AI optimisation such as LLMs.txt and FAQ schema. These findings challenge assumptions that have guided local digital marketing strategy for years.
Andrew Waite, CEO of Insites, said: “AI visibility is the biggest new sales and growth narrative for agencies in over a decade. Those who adopt it will have a significant advantage over those who don’t.”
The 2026 AI Visibility Report is available to download for free at insites.com/ai-whitepaper.
ABOUT INSITES
Insites is an AI-powered platform that helps agencies sell AI visibility to local businesses at scale. Using Insites, digital marketing providers can run AI Visibility Audits that show exactly how any local business appears across AI platforms including ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, identifying gaps and opportunities that open up new sales conversations. Insites brings everything together in one place, giving sales teams the data, the narrative and the tools to have smarter conversations with local business owners. Learn more at insites.com.
CONTACT
Izzy Fletcher, Growth Marketer
Insites
marketing@insites.com
linkedin.com/company/insites
Izzy Fletcher
Insites Technologies Ltd
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