More than a third of the Brisbane businesses we checked never came up when AI was asked who to use.
We put the questions Brisbane customers ask about plumbers, electricians, accountants, dentists, physios and mortgage brokers to GPT-4.1 mini, Perplexity Sonar and Claude Haiku 4.5 through their APIs. 26 of the 72 businesses weren't named in any of the 36 answers for their trade. Answers in the apps can differ.
Most barely came up
More than half of the 72 came up in two answers or fewer. Only 7 were named in a third of the answers or more.
What AI read
Most answers cited business websites. About a third also drew on listing and review sites: Localsearch, Word of Mouth, ourtop10, ProductReview, Doctify, Airtasker and hipages. Dentists' answers leaned on Doctify, plumbers' on Localsearch and hipages, and mortgage brokers' on ourtop10.
By trade
| Trade | Never named | Most-named business |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 2 of 12 | 31 of 36 answers |
| Accountants | 4 of 12 | 11 of 36 answers |
| Plumbers | 4 of 12 | 15 of 36 answers |
| Dentists | 5 of 12 | 14 of 36 answers |
| Mortgage brokers | 5 of 12 | 22 of 36 answers |
| Physiotherapists | 6 of 12 | 12 of 36 answers |
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How we measured it
Businesses: 12 per trade, picked from Google results for searches like "plumber Brisbane". This is a sample of 72 businesses, not every business in Brisbane. We haven't published their names.
Questions: six per trade, written the way a Brisbane customer asks. None names a business. The full list is below.
AI engines: each question went twice to ChatGPT (GPT-4.1 mini), Perplexity (Sonar) and Claude (Haiku 4.5) through their APIs, which makes 36 answers per trade and 216 in total. Answers in the apps people use can differ. Claude searched the web in 39 of its 72 answers.
Counting: a business counts as named only when the answer's text names it. A link to its site on its own doesn't count.
Date: answers collected on 2 October 2026.
The 36 questions
Accountants
- Who are the best accountants in Brisbane for a small business?
- Can you recommend a tax accountant in Brisbane?
- Which Brisbane accounting firm should I use for bookkeeping and BAS?
- I'm starting a business in Brisbane. Which accountant should I talk to?
- Who's a good accountant in Brisbane for sole traders?
- Which accountants in Brisbane are best for property investors?
Plumbers
- Who's the best plumber in Brisbane?
- I need an emergency plumber in Brisbane tonight. Who should I call?
- Can you recommend a plumber in Brisbane for a blocked drain?
- Which Brisbane plumbers install and repair hot water systems?
- Who's a reliable plumber for a bathroom renovation in Brisbane?
- Which plumbing companies in Brisbane do gas fitting?
Electricians
- Who's the best electrician in Brisbane?
- Can you recommend an emergency electrician in Brisbane?
- Which Brisbane electricians install solar panels and batteries?
- Who should I use to install an EV charger at home in Brisbane?
- I need my switchboard upgraded in Brisbane. Which electrician should I call?
- Which electricians in Brisbane do commercial work?
Dentists
- Who's the best dentist in Brisbane?
- Can you recommend an emergency dentist in Brisbane?
- Which Brisbane dentists are good for children?
- Where can I get teeth whitening in Brisbane?
- Which dentists in Brisbane do dental implants?
- I'm nervous about the dentist. Which Brisbane dentist is gentle with anxious patients?
Physiotherapists
- Who's the best physio in Brisbane?
- Can you recommend a sports physio in Brisbane?
- Which Brisbane physiotherapists treat back pain?
- I need rehab after knee surgery in Brisbane. Which physio should I see?
- Which physios in Brisbane offer dry needling?
- Where can I find a physio in Brisbane who does Pilates?
Mortgage brokers
- Who's the best mortgage broker in Brisbane?
- Can you recommend a mortgage broker in Brisbane for a first home buyer?
- Which Brisbane mortgage brokers help with refinancing?
- I'm self-employed. Which mortgage broker in Brisbane should I talk to?
- Who's a good mortgage broker in Brisbane for investment property loans?
- Which mortgage brokers in Brisbane have access to the most lenders?