# Study: AI search tools favor vet clinics with more reviews

Published: 2026-10-23T00:21:23.900Z · Source: Pet Industry News (https://petnews.com.au/what-ai-tells-pet-owners-when-they-ask-for-a-vet-online/)
Source date: 2026-10-23
Flags: vendor study — vendor-published (Seenmetric is an AI-visibility consultancy; study covers its own service category)
Entities: chatgpt, gemini, ai-mode

Seenmetric founder Misha Petrov checked what ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Mode recommend for 3,371 Australian vet clinic listings (2,785 active after removing empty or individual-vet profiles), asking each system pet-owner questions like "Can you recommend a good vet in [place]?" across 60 locations and analyzing 360 answers, per Pet Industry News. Clinics with 200 or more reviews were recommended 99% of the time versus 37% for clinics under 50 reviews, and claimed Google Business profiles were recommended 79% of the time versus 17% for unclaimed ones. "An AI assistant doesn't have an opinion about your clinic," Petrov said. "It repeats what it can find about you: your reviews, your hours, what clients say about your team." The study's authors caution the results "describe patterns rather than guarantees," since AI answers vary by user and change over time.

Why it matters: AI assistants recommending local businesses appear to be reading review volume and profile completeness as stand-ins for quality, which gives small businesses a lever they can pull without new SEO spend or a website rebuild.

## What this answers

**Why do some vet clinics show up when you ask ChatGPT or Google AI Mode to recommend one?**

A Seenmetric study of AI answers for Australian vet clinics found review volume mattered more than anything else: clinics with 200 or more reviews were recommended 99% of the time, versus 37% for clinics with fewer than 50.

**Does having a claimed Google Business profile help a business show up in AI recommendations?**

Yes — the same study found claimed Google Business profiles were recommended 79% of the time versus 17% for unclaimed ones.


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