Is Google still worth it for contractors?

Yes. Homeowners still search Google, use its map and read its reviews, and Google says its AI Overviews and AI Mode draw on pages that are already in regular Google Search. Keep that work going and add what ChatGPT needs on top.

What's the main difference between Google and ChatGPT for a local business?

Google ranks pages in a list, so a business can be fourth and still get the call. ChatGPT writes an answer that names a few businesses, so it has to be able to say clearly who you are, what you do and where.

Do I need separate work for ChatGPT and Google?

Mostly not. Plain text, direct answers, matching business facts, real reviews and a fast page help with both. The ChatGPT-specific pieces are making sure OAI-SearchBot isn't blocked and that your words are in the page without needing a script.

By Jimmy Davidson · November 4, 2026

ChatGPT or Google: Do You Need Both?

Q: Does ChatGPT use Bing?

OpenAI says ChatGPT search sometimes sends searches to outside search providers, and the providers it points to include Microsoft, which runs Bing. Setting up Bing Webmaster Tools and Bing Places is a small, free step worth taking.

Every few months somebody announces that Google is finished. Then you look at where your calls came from last month, and Google is still on the list.

So here's the straight version. Google isn't dead. But ChatGPT looks at your business differently, and being good at one doesn't automatically make you good at the other. Let's go through where they differ, where they overlap, and how to show up in both without doing the work twice.

Is Google dead? Not even close

Is Google dead? Not even close. Homeowners still search it, still use its map and still read its reviews. BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US consumers found Google is still the top place people go for reviews, at 71%, even after slipping from 83% the year before (BrightLocal).

What changed is that Google isn't the only place homeowners start. The same survey found use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools for local recommendations rose from 6% to 45% in a year. And Google itself now writes answers at the top of many searches, with AI Overviews and AI Mode.

Here's the good news in that. Google says that to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page has to be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet in regular Google Search, and that there's no special extra work required (Google Search Central). The work you've already done for Google still counts in Google's own AI answers.

Google ranks pages. ChatGPT picks names.

Google ranks pages. ChatGPT picks names. That's the difference in one line.

Google hands a homeowner a list. A list is forgiving. You can be the fourth result and still get the call, because people scroll and compare.

ChatGPT writes an answer. It names a few businesses and says something about each one. OpenAI says ChatGPT ranks the search results it uses with "multiple factors intended to help users find relevant, reliable information," and that placement is not guaranteed (OpenAI Help Center). For your business, the question shifts from "is my page a good match?" to "can ChatGPT say clearly who we are, what we do and where?"

Where they really differ

Three practical differences matter for a contractor.

Different crawlers, different doors. Google reads your site with its own crawler. ChatGPT search uses OpenAI's crawler, OAI-SearchBot, and OpenAI says sites that block it won't be shown in ChatGPT search answers (OpenAI crawler documentation). Your robots.txt file (the file that tells crawlers what they may read) can let one in and keep the other out without you knowing.

Scripts. Google runs JavaScript, the code some sites use to load their words after the page opens (Google Search Central). A December 2024 study by Vercel and MERJ found OpenAI's crawlers don't (Vercel). A site can look complete to Google and half-empty to ChatGPT. We saw exactly this on Alpine Peak Roofing's site: its business details were added by a script, and fixing that was most of the climb from 52 to 95 on our own five-part check (starting score August 2026, re-checked October 10, 2026).

Different partners. ChatGPT doesn't only use its own crawler. OpenAI says ChatGPT search sometimes sends rewritten searches to outside search providers, and the providers it points to include Microsoft, which runs Bing (OpenAI Help Center). ChatGPT may also draw on Yelp: Axios reported in July 2026 that Yelp is licensing its reviews, ratings, photos and business information to OpenAI (MarTech, reporting Axios). So for ChatGPT, Bing and Yelp are worth a look.

What helps in one usually helps in the other

What helps you in ChatGPT usually helps you in Google too. The overlap is big, and it's where to spend your time first.

Google's own advice for its AI answers reads like a to-do list for both: make sure important content is available as text, give people a good page experience, and keep your Business Profile up to date (Google Search Central). All three help with ChatGPT as well.

Things that help in both:

Plain text. Your trade, towns, services and phone number written as words, not only inside pictures.
Direct answers. The questions homeowners ask on the phone, answered in two or three sentences on your site.
Matching facts. The same name, phone and towns on your site, your Google Business Profile, Facebook, Yelp and your trade directories.
Real reviews, with replies. Google says helpful replies help a business stand out (Google Business Profile Help).
A fast page that has its words in it when it's sent, not added later.

The short list for both

If you only do a few things this month, do these:

Check the doors. Open yourdomain.com/robots.txt and make sure neither Google's crawler nor OAI-SearchBot is blocked.
Check Google can see you. Google's free Search Console shows which of your pages are indexed. Bing has its own free Webmaster Tools (Bing Webmaster Tools), and since Bing is among the search providers ChatGPT points to, it's worth setting up too.
Claim your listings. Google Business Profile, Bing Places, Yelp and the directories for your trade, all with the same facts.
Write the answers. Five real phone questions, answered on your site.
Look at the raw page. Press Ctrl+U on your homepage and search for your phone number. If it's not there, ask whoever built the site why.

Keep doing what works on Google. This is what you add on top, and most of it helps both.

Nobody can promise where you'll land in either one. A ranking is a goal, never a guarantee. But a site that's open, plain and consistent gives both of them the best chance to get you right.

If you'd like to see how your homepage reads to both, the free audit at www.peakgrowthpartner.com/audit runs our five-part check in a few seconds. Type in your web address. That's all it asks for.

Sources

BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (February 11, 2026; 1,002 US adults): https://www.brightlocal.com/research/local-consumer-review-survey/
Google Search Central, "AI features and your website": https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features
Google Search Central, "Understand the JavaScript SEO basics": https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/javascript/javascript-seo-basics
Google Business Profile Help, "Tips to improve your local ranking on Google": https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091
OpenAI Help Center, "Searching the web with ChatGPT" (ranking, search providers): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-searching-the-web-with-chatgpt
OpenAI, "Overview of OpenAI crawlers" (OAI-SearchBot): https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots
Vercel and MERJ, "The rise of the AI crawler" (December 17, 2024): https://vercel.com/blog/the-rise-of-the-ai-crawler
MarTech, "Yelp brings reviews and local leads to ChatGPT" (July 28, 2026, reporting Axios): https://martech.org/yelp-brings-reviews-and-local-leads-to-chatgpt/
Bing Webmaster Tools: https://www.bing.com/webmasters/about