docs(evidence): AI platform discovery vs recommendation analysis

User-facing copy constraint; keep ranges as ASCII hyphens.

README.md

@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
 # geolocal.io — planning-selfserve-audit
 
-**Working review branch:** `review/ready` (from `planning-selfserve-audit`, itself from `planning-rev2` 2026-09-15 session). Not a clone of `main`. Do not merge main docs here.
+**Review surface branch** (from `planning-rev2` 2026-09-15 session lineage). Hot self-serve / remediation work 2026-10-01. Not a clone of `main`. Do not merge main docs here.
+
+**Start here for Ty review:** [`REVIEW.md`](REVIEW.md)
 
 ## Map (locked)
 
 | Path | Role |
 | :--- | :--- |
+| `REVIEW.md` | Review package (requirements, decisions, flags, branch map, checklist) |
 | `docs/BUSINESS_PLAN.md` | **Only** home for the business idea / strategy / GTM / wedge / workflow / MCP / packaging |
 | `docs/GLOSSARY.md` | Industry terms only |
 | `docs/product/genre-packs.md` | Layer A/B/C index (how we surface work to owners) |

REVIEW.md

@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+# Review package - planning-selfserve-audit
+
+**Repo:** Ty_Tech/geolocal-io  
+**Review branch:** `planning-selfserve-audit`  
+**Package commits:** `5ac84b6` (add REVIEW) · `1dfbbcd` (ASCII dashes) · tip = this branch HEAD  
+**Primary SoT:** [`docs/SELF_SERVE_AI_DISCOVERABILITY_CONCEPT.md`](docs/SELF_SERVE_AI_DISCOVERABILITY_CONCEPT.md)  
+**Strategy spine:** [`docs/BUSINESS_PLAN.md`](docs/BUSINESS_PLAN.md) §1 North Star  
+**Conventions:** [`docs/CONVENTIONS.md`](docs/CONVENTIONS.md) · [`docs/writing-rules.md`](docs/writing-rules.md)  
+**Parallel (non-SoT):** [`docs/ALTERNATE_BUSINESS_PROPOSAL.md`](docs/ALTERNATE_BUSINESS_PROPOSAL.md) · [`docs/research-brief.pdf`](docs/research-brief.pdf)  
+**Field / API evidence (Core 3):** [`docs/product/genre-packs/SOURCES.md`](docs/product/genre-packs/SOURCES.md)
+
+## Goal
+
+Make this branch review-ready so Ty can approve without re-litigating. Decisions and open flags live in-repo here. No product closures invented in this file: contradictions are **FLAG**ged for Ty.
+
+## SoT pointers
+
+| Layer | File | Owns |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| Product architecture | CONCEPT | Remediation stack, fan-out honesty, lanes, genre parents, phases |
+| Strategy / GTM / wedge | BUSINESS_PLAN | North Star intent, Discovery foundation / Core 3, owner workflow, MCP distribution |
+| Parallel thesis (non-SoT) | ALTERNATE + research-brief.pdf | Action-plan / warehouse framing; denser aggregator evidence |
+| Core 3 field/API only | SOURCES + core3-field-map | Do not treat as deep edit URL inventory for ranks 1-14 |
+
+Amend CONCEPT in place only. Evidence under `docs/evidence/`. No twin PLAN/NOTES/BRIEF beside CONCEPT. Do not merge or kill ALTERNATE. No force-push to `main`.
+
+## Requirements (what “done enough to review” means)
+
+- [ ] Mission readable without jargon: help owners get AI to recommend them; MCP = pipe not product; industry graph = Northstar, not v1
+- [ ] Scoreboard explicit: Presence + Recommendability
+- [ ] Problem = black box of NAP/category copies; claim once → correct outward
+- [ ] Solution still labeled architect-not-built: audit findings → correction tickets; held multi-platform verification as moat
+- [ ] Stakeholder verify / prove-the-shop-is-theirs treated as first-class pain (not optional)
+- [ ] Lane model present: Lane A umbrellas (Data Axle, Localeze, Foursquare) + Lane B per-platform majors
+- [ ] Every material claim either cited or marked BLOCKED / FLAG
+- [ ] No sibling PLAN/CONCEPT twins for the same subject (CONVENTIONS)
+
+## Research-backed requirements
+
+Musts already encoded in CONCEPT (morning 2026-10-01 commits). Do not weaken in review copy.
+
+- **Ticket shape (must):** field + wrong value + right value + proof URL (GBP / claimed truth). Same shape for Lane A and Lane B.
+- **Two lanes (must):** Lane A umbrellas (Data Axle, Localeze, Foursquare) stop feed regen; Lane B claim / suggest-edit on own-DB surfaces. Umbrella-only or platform-only both fail.
+- **One-click = ticket set (must):** not one syndication rewrite of the internet. Mint GBP-proof + Lane A + Lane B; re-audit = success check.
+- **Fan-out ceiling (must productize honesty):** Localeze claim-once → many publishers, partner cadence often ~30-90 days, no partner-acceptance guarantee; Google fast-path needs separate verify/sync inside their product; Data Axle hours to ~two weeks on hard cases; **no free public one-to-many SMB fan-out API**; Yext-class = paid pipe not destination; GBP does **not** outbound-syndicate NAP; Apple writes Apple ecosystem only.
+- **Held verification:** multi-platform verified status = moat; paid / fulfillment architecture, not free first-hour (align with BUSINESS_PLAN paid cleanup = fulfillment, not the product center).
+- **Presence score inputs (open):** Core 3 min-bar lives in BUSINESS_PLAN + genre-packs. CONCEPT still open on Yelp + aggregators in v1 Presence. **FLAG** before claiming “we check X.”
+- **V1 shell FLAG:** CONCEPT = interactive web first, revisit MCP ~3 months; BUSINESS_PLAN Owner MCP P0 parallel with web chat. Packaging must not pick a side. **FLAG for Ty.**
+
+## Decisions locked (do not re-litigate in review)
+
+1. Agent-era local SMB discoverability is the spine; MCP is implementation option, not the strategy product.
+2. Industry graph is longer-term Northstar, not v1.
+3. Single SoT file for self-serve AI discoverability = CONCEPT (amend in place).
+4. Presence + Recommendability as the two scored outcomes of the North Star intent.
+5. Two-lane remediation: umbrellas (A) + per-platform (B); ranked majors with owner remediation paths.
+6. Stakeholder verification before honest audit / warehouse overwrite is core pain and action-plan step A.
+7. Collaborator/chat-first process: write only on explicit amend/capture; no doc mill.
+
+## Remediations: resolve vs flag taxonomy
+
+| Class | Meaning | Reviewer action |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| **Resolve** | Owner (or product) can complete a concrete correction path with a known surface. Acceptance can be tracked. | Expect ticket shape: wrong value → right value → proof link → platform channel. |
+| **Flag** | Known gap, commercial unknown, or timing risk that blocks shipping a path. | Keep visible; do not invent a product decision to close it. |
+| **Hybrid (demoted)** | Earlier hybrid genre/parent framing - demoted to a flag unless CONCEPT re-elevates it. | Do not treat as locked architecture. |
+
+Lane A: Data Axle, Localeze/TransUnion, Foursquare. Lane B: GBP first as proof, then other ranked platforms (see CONCEPT 1-14).
+
+### Ranked stack 1-14 (status for review)
+
+Documented with owner workflows in CONCEPT (commits `20b1f9f` → `95cd0a1` → `967ba9a`). All are **architect-not-built** Resolve paths unless noted Flag.
+
+| Rank | Surface | Lane | Status |
+| :---: | :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| 1 | Google Business Profile | B (claim hub / Core 3) | Resolve path documented |
+| 2 | Apple Business Connect | B (Core 3) | Resolve path documented |
+| 3 | Bing Places | B (Core 3) | Resolve path documented |
+| 4 | Foursquare Places | A + B | Resolve path documented |
+| 5 | Yelp | B | Resolve path documented |
+| 6 | Data Axle Local Listings | A | Resolve path documented |
+| 7 | Localeze / TransUnion | A | Resolve path documented |
+| 8 | YP / Thryv | B (long-tail feeds) | Resolve path documented |
+| 9 | Tripadvisor | B (vertical) | Resolve path documented; **FLAG** thin for bakery/salon v1 genre gate |
+| 10 | Facebook / Meta | B (low weight) | Resolve path documented |
+| 11 | MapQuest / HERE / in-car / long-tail | A by default | Monitor after umbrellas; **FLAG** thin for v1 genre gate |
+| 12 | Dun & Bradstreet | Low for consumer local | Skip unless B2B; **FLAG** thin for v1 |
+| 13 | CityGrid | Legacy | Only if still stomping; **FLAG** thin for v1 |
+| 14 | Yext / Uberall / BrightLocal (pipes) | Route through existing paid pipe | Not destinations; score publishers not pipe brand |
+
+## Platform links / fan-out - confirm / flag
+
+Desk pass against CONCEPT hyperlinks and fan-out section (commit `967ba9a` / `44c2d6c`). No external re-research in this package.
+
+| Item | Verdict | Notes |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| Ranks 1-14 marketing-root hyperlinks in CONCEPT | **CONFIRM** | Canonical pages linked in SoT (`967ba9a`) |
+| Deep correction URLs / API per rank 1-14 | **FLAG** | SOURCES covers Core 3 field/API only; need second table for deep edit channels |
+| Localeze “80-100+” vs ALTERNATE “80-90+” | **SOFT FLAG** | Align publisher-count language across CONCEPT and ALTERNATE |
+| Localeze ~30-90d partner cadence + Google sync separate | **CONFIRM** | Encoded in CONCEPT fan-out section |
+| Data Axle timing / free vs Premium docs link | **CONFIRM** | Hours-~2 weeks hard cases; Premium docs linked |
+| Yext-class “often 200+” direct publisher APIs | **FLAG** | Cite evidence or soften number before locking |
+| Foursquare suggest/edit (`POST /places/{id}/suggest/edit`) | **CONFIRM** | In CONCEPT workflows |
+| No free public one-to-many fan-out API | **CONFIRM** | Product rule: one-click = ticket set |
+| GBP no outbound NAP syndicate; Apple ≠ rivals | **CONFIRM** | Architect rule in CONCEPT |
+
+### Platform link inventory (marketing roots in CONCEPT)
+
+| # | Label | URL in CONCEPT |
+| :---: | :--- | :--- |
+| 1 | Google Business Profile | https://business.google.com |
+| 2 | Apple Business Connect | https://business.apple.com |
+| 3 | Bing Places | https://www.bingplaces.com |
+| 4 | Foursquare | https://foursquare.com |
+| 5 | Yelp | https://www.yelp.com |
+| 6 | Data Axle Local Listings | https://www.data-axle.com/marketing-solutions/local-listings-management/ |
+| 6b | Local Listings Premium docs | https://local-listings-premium.data-axle.com/docs |
+| 7 | Localeze / TransUnion | https://neustarlocaleze.biz/ |
+| 8 | YP / Thryv | https://www.yellowpages.com |
+| 9 | Tripadvisor | https://www.tripadvisor.com |
+| 10 | Facebook / Meta Business | https://www.facebook.com/business |
+| 11 | MapQuest | https://www.mapquest.com |
+| 12 | Dun & Bradstreet | https://www.dnb.com |
+| 13 | CityGrid | https://www.citygrid.com |
+| 14 | Yext | https://www.yext.com |
+| 14b | Uberall | https://www.uberall.com |
+| 14c | BrightLocal | https://www.brightlocal.com |
+
+## Weak / contradictory - flag before Ty reviews
+
+1. **MCP vs web-first:** BUSINESS_PLAN §8 (Owner MCP P0 parallel) vs CONCEPT (interactive web first, MCP ~3 months). Do not pick a side in packaging. **FLAG for Ty.**
+2. **Rank vs regeneration:** FSQ/Yelp sit above Data Axle/Localeze in discoverability rank; that is not the same as regeneration-stop priority. Keep both frames labeled. **FLAG** if copy conflates them.
+3. **Thin verticals in 1-14:** Tripadvisor / MapQuest / D&B / CityGrid are thin for bakery/salon v1. Gate the 14-stack by genre for v1 packs. **FLAG.**
+4. **Held verification moat:** Do not sell as free checkup. How (OAuth / agency / ToS) is unproven. **FLAG.**
+5. **Marketing roots ≠ deep edit links:** Need a second table; SOURCES pattern is Core 3 only today. **FLAG.**
+6. **Localeze publisher count:** Align CONCEPT 80-100+ with ALTERNATE 80-90+. **SOFT FLAG.**
+7. **Yext 200+:** Cite or soften. **FLAG.**
+
+## Open decisions already listed in CONCEPT (do not invent closures)
+
+- First genre cluster pack(s) to ship
+- Web-only v1 vs also embed in a chat shell (see MCP FLAG above)
+- Presence providers for v1 (Core 3 ± Yelp ± aggregators)
+- How to measure Recommendability without overclaiming
+- Where “email on file” for verify comes from
+- Free vs paid; what never goes to a human vs escalation
+- Veterinary: healthcare/regulated vs own call (GBP Pets ~59 leaves)
+- v1 demand: ads/self-start only, intermediate-first, or both
+
+## Top review checklist
+
+1. Open CONCEPT first - baker/owner story include prove-you-own-it + black-box copies?
+2. Solution still “to architect,” not claimed shipped?
+3. Tickets: every audit finding → same ticket shape; GBP as proof?
+4. Moat: held multi-platform verified status?
+5. Genre parents match latest CONCEPT (destination workshop split, beauty ≠ healthcare, hybrid = flag)?
+6. ALTERNATE clearly non-SoT; action plan coherent with CONCEPT lanes?
+7. BUSINESS_PLAN §1 intent verbatim where North Star quoted?
+8. Evidence under `docs/evidence/` only for cited research?
+9. PDF vs ALTERNATE research section - match or note drift?
+10. No new sibling docs without announced path (CONVENTIONS)?
+11. Fan-out honesty visible (ticket set, not one rewrite)?
+12. MCP vs web-first contradiction left as FLAG (not silently resolved)?
+
+## Branch map
+
+| Branch | Tip (at package prep) | Role for this review |
+| :--- | :--- | :--- |
+| **`planning-selfserve-audit`** | `8337408` (+ this REVIEW commit) | **YES - review surface.** Self-serve concept SoT, remediation 1-14, fan-out, alternate proposal, writing rules. |
+| `planning-rev2` | `9efd554` | Background. Sep 15 SEO desk unslop; BUSINESS_PLAN / genre-packs / evidence lineage. Parent of hot branch. |
+| `main` | `2aa7a2c` | Historical. July strategy / SSP archive. Raw material only; not current SoT on this review. |
+| `ssp-refinement` | `a4cc4cd` | Historical. Conversational SSP UC-04/05 (July). Behind `main`; not current SoT. |
+| `review/ready` | (optional integrator scratch) | Earlier mechanical prep fork; prefer **this** branch (`planning-selfserve-audit`) as Ty review surface. |
+
+Do not mass-delete remote branches. Prefer documenting over force-rewriting history.
+
+## Out of scope for this review package
+
+Coding, production deploy, force-push `main`, SlabUploader work, expanding ALTERNATE/PDF without Ty naming paths, inventing Presence “we check X” lists, closing MCP vs web-first without Ty.
+
+## Research flags (Desk)
+
+Desk confirm/flag table is above. Remaining open research items for Ty (not closed here): deep edit URL table; Localeze count align; Yext 200+ cite-or-soften; genre-gated 14-stack for v1 packs.

docs/BUSINESS_PLAN.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # geolocal.io — Business Plan (working draft)
 
-**Branch:** `planning-selfserve-audit` (review packaging on `review/ready`)  
+**Branch:** `planning-selfserve-audit`  
 **Status:** In progress — conversation checkpoint, not final  
 **Purpose:** **Only** durable home for the business idea on this branch. Fold strategy here; do not spawn sibling strategy docs.
 

docs/evidence/AI-PLATFORM-DISCOVERY-AND-RECOMMENDATION.md

@@ -0,0 +1,225 @@
+# AI platform discovery vs recommendation (US SMBs)
+
+**Branch:** `planning-selfserve-audit`  
+**Status:** Research analysis (evidence). Complements `docs/SELF_SERVE_AI_DISCOVERABILITY_CONCEPT.md` and `docs/ALTERNATE_BUSINESS_PROPOSAL.md`. Not product SoT.  
+**As of:** 2026-10-01  
+**Scope:** How the top six AI chatbots (by popularity) find and then recommend local small businesses, and which listing or data providers matter for each step.
+
+---
+
+## 1. Discovery is the gate
+
+If an AI platform never discovers a business, none of the downstream recommendation mechanics matter.
+
+**Discovery** means the assistant can find a real entity that matches the user's place or service intent: a named business with enough location and category signal to appear as a candidate. Discovery answers: "What businesses even exist here for this need?"
+
+**Recommendation** means the assistant chooses, ranks, or endorses one or more of those candidates for the user. Recommendation answers: "Which of the discovered businesses should I suggest, and why?"
+
+These are sequential. Discovery comes first. A complete Google Business Profile, a strong Yelp page, or a clean Bing Places listing only help recommendation if the platform can retrieve the business in the first place. Optimizing reviews, photos, or "best of" language without a discovery path is wasted work for AI surfaces.
+
+### What happens after discovery
+
+Once a business is discovered, the assistant often needs more than a directory row. Downstream questions include hours, services, prices, whether they are open now, reputation, booking, and fit for the user's constraints. Those answers may come from:
+
+1. **The business website** (and structured data such as LocalBusiness schema), when the model browses or cites the open web.
+2. **Deeper pulls into provider data** (Maps place details, Yelp reviews and photos, partner place APIs, reservation feeds), when the platform has a licensed or native places graph.
+
+The same provider can matter for both steps (for example Yelp for discovery and for review-backed recommendation), but the product and SEO implications differ. Discovery is coverage and matchability. Recommendation is depth, trust signals, and action paths.
+
+---
+
+## 2. Top six AI platforms (popularity)
+
+Popularity ranking depends on the metric. Confirm and adjust if newer data differs.
+
+| Rank (working set) | Platform | Notes on popularity metrics |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| 1 | ChatGPT | Leads most chatbot web-referral and web-visit share series (e.g. Statcounter Aug 2026 ~79% of that panel; other panels still put it first at lower share). |
+| 2 | Gemini | Clear second on referral and visit share; large Gemini app MAU. |
+| 3 | Perplexity | Often third on Statcounter-style referral share; lower on some visit-share panels. |
+| 4 | Copilot | Mid-pack on chatbot referral share; Bing/Microsoft distribution matters beyond pure chat share. |
+| 5 | Claude | Often third on web-visit share panels; lower on some referral panels. |
+| 6 | Meta AI | Tiny on chatbot referral charts, but very large MAU inside Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp (reported ~1.2B). Included for US SMB discovery reach inside Meta apps. |
+
+**Metric caveat:** DeepSeek or Grok sometimes displace Copilot, Perplexity, or Meta AI on pure traffic charts. This document keeps the user's working six for US small-business recommendation surfaces. Label any ranking used in go-to-market copy with its metric and date.
+
+---
+
+## 3. Explicit split: discovery sources vs recommendation depth
+
+### Providers that mainly drive discovery (gate)
+
+| Provider | Role in discovery | Primary platforms affected |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Google Business Profile / Google Maps | First-party place graph for Gemini and Google AI Mode; also produces crawlable listing pages other AIs may browse. | Gemini (direct); others via web/Maps pages |
+| Yelp | Licensed local content into ChatGPT and Perplexity; strong review/directory discovery surface. | ChatGPT, Perplexity; also cited on some Google AI Mode queries |
+| Bing Places + Bing Search index | How businesses enter Microsoft local entities and pages Copilot/Bing retrieve. | Copilot; ChatGPT when search uses Bing |
+| Business website + structured data | Crawlable entity for Claude, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini AI Overviews-style answers. | All six (especially Claude and AI Overviews-like cite paths) |
+| Facebook / Instagram business pages | Primary observed discovery graph for Meta AI inside Meta apps. | Meta AI |
+| Foursquare Places | Documented Places API partner for ChatGPT Search; also a syndicating place graph. | ChatGPT (partner); indirect elsewhere via syndication |
+| Apple Business (successor to Apple Business Connect) | Place cards for Maps / Siri / Spotlight. Weak as a direct pull for ChatGPT/Gemini/Claude/Perplexity. | Apple ecosystem; secondary for this six |
+
+### Providers that are upstream hygiene only (not AI destinations)
+
+| Provider | Role | Honesty label |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| Localeze / TransUnion (ex-Neustar Localeze) | Feeds partner directories and some Apple/Bing-class destinations. | Indirect. No clean published study that aggregator cleanup alone produces a measured +X% AI mention rate. |
+| Data Axle | Same class: feeds directories / nav / partner lists. | Indirect. Stops stale twins regenerating onto long-tail sites AIs may later browse. |
+| SafeGraph | B2B POI / analytics. | Not an owner claim path for SMB AI recommend in current SoT. |
+| Yext (and similar publishers) | Pipes into Google, Apple, Bing, Yelp, Foursquare, etc. | Execution speed and consistency. Not a unique AI corpus. |
+
+**Call one-liner:** Rank for AI discovery: GBP/Maps + (for Copilot) Bing Places + Yelp/Foursquare (ChatGPT) + Meta pages (Meta AI) + the business website ≫ Localeze/Data Axle as indirect warehouses ≫ Yext-class pipes. Aggregators matter to stop regeneration, not because ChatGPT "reads Localeze."
+
+---
+
+## 4. Per-platform discovery map (then recommendation depth)
+
+For each of the six: how discovery typically works, then what supplies recommendation depth after the gate.
+
+### ChatGPT
+
+- **Discovery:** Web search via third-party providers (Bing is a named provider; others may be used). Location may be shared with trusted local-listing partners. Documented place partners include **Yelp** (reviews, photos, business details; actions such as reserve / waitlist / request a quote) and **Foursquare Places** (Places API powering ChatGPT Search). Partner business feeds support local actions (for example restaurant reservation specs).
+- **After discovery:** Deeper Yelp content, partner feeds, and crawlable pages (business site, niche directories, MapQuest-class listing domains in citation studies).
+- **Not proven:** A direct owner "Localeze → ChatGPT" pipe. Completeness Score on an aggregator is not proof of ChatGPT discovery.
+- **Evidence labels:** Primary (OpenAI/Yelp announcements, OpenAI conversion feed specs); practitioner/vendor (BrightLocal, Yext, Foundation). BrightLocal-style "**60–70% of ChatGPT local from Foursquare**" is **UNVERIFIED magnitude** (partnership real; share not OpenAI-documented).
+
+### Gemini (and Google AI Mode / AI Overviews context)
+
+- **Discovery:** Google Maps / Google Business Profile via documented **Grounding with Google Maps** (places, reviews, photos, addresses, hours). Search grounding supplies web context.
+- **After discovery:** Maps place detail and reviews for AI Mode; for AI Overviews-style answers, the **business website** often carries more citation weight than Maps URLs.
+- **Caution:** GBP is necessary for the Google local graph, **not sufficient** for AI recommendation share. BrightLocal Local AI Visibility: Maps mention roughly ~66% vs AI surfaces ~32–38% (directional). SOCi LVI 2026: ChatGPT recommended ~1.2% of brand locations vs ~35.9% appearing in Google's top-3 (vendor study; directional). Maps pack strength ≠ AI recommend rate.
+- **Evidence labels:** Primary (Gemini Maps grounding docs, Google blog); practitioner study (Steady Demand: AI Mode ~79.8% Maps/GBP citations on local-intent vs AI Overviews ~3.1% Maps/GBP and ~70.7% business sites).
+
+### Perplexity
+
+- **Discovery:** Live web citation mix plus **Yelp Fusion** license (maps, reviews, photos in local suggestions).
+- **After discovery:** Cited Yelp pages, Maps/listing pages, niche directories, TripAdvisor (hospitality), MapQuest-class domains in vendor citation studies.
+- **Evidence labels:** Primary partnership (Verge/Yelp 2024); vendor citation mixes (BrightLocal, Foundation, Yext Scout). Competitive sets can omit Google itself or owned sites depending on study design.
+
+### Copilot
+
+- **Discovery:** Public web answers ground through **Bing Search**. **Bing Places** is the owner path into Bing Maps / local listings that Bing can retrieve.
+- **After discovery:** Bing-indexed business pages, partner content Bing surfaces (including historical and ongoing Yelp relationships on Bing local in various forms).
+- **Evidence labels:** Primary (Microsoft Copilot web access → Bing Search; Bing Places help). Less quantified than Google/Yelp share studies.
+
+### Claude
+
+- **Discovery:** Official **web search** tool with citations and optional user location. **No** documented dedicated local Places partner database in Anthropic docs.
+- **After discovery:** Whatever the retrieval index returns: business site, directories, Wikipedia when present, news/"best of" lists.
+- **Evidence labels:** Primary (Anthropic web_search tool docs). Backend index provider sometimes reported as Brave in industry chatter; **not Anthropic-confirmed**.
+
+### Meta AI
+
+- **Discovery:** Practitioner observation and Meta-ecosystem logic point to **Facebook Business Pages**, **Instagram business profiles**, WhatsApp Business catalogs, and Meta recommendations/reviews as the primary local graph inside Meta apps. Meta transparency: public Meta content and interactions are used to develop AI at Meta.
+- **After discovery:** Meta-graph engagement, reviews, catalogs; thin Meta presence means weak Meta AI surfacing even if GBP is strong.
+- **Evidence labels:** Meta transparency (training/product data classes); practitioner GEO writeups (not Meta-published ranking recipes). Treat exact ranking weights as **UNVERIFIED**.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Ranked providers by practical impact on discovery (then recommend)
+
+Ordered for **getting discovered** by the six platforms above. Recommendation depth notes sit under each item.
+
+1. **Google Business Profile / Google Maps**  
+   - Discovery: Dominant first-party graph for Gemini; crawlable listing pages for others.  
+   - Recommendation: Reviews, hours, photos, categories; still not enough alone for AI recommend share (see §4 Gemini caution).  
+   - Evidence: Gemini Maps grounding (primary); Steady Demand; BrightLocal; SOCi LVI (vendor).
+
+2. **Yelp**  
+   - Discovery: Licensed into ChatGPT and Perplexity; frequently cited listing/review domain.  
+   - Recommendation: Review text, photos, ratings; in-chat actions on ChatGPT.  
+   - Evidence: Axios/Yelp–OpenAI 2026; Verge/Perplexity 2024; BrightLocal; Foundation (vendor).
+
+3. **Bing Places + Bing index**  
+   - Discovery: Gate for Copilot and for ChatGPT paths that use Bing.  
+   - Recommendation: Whatever Bing retrieves next (site pages, enriched local modules).  
+   - Evidence: Microsoft Copilot → Bing Search; Bing Places owner docs.
+
+4. **Business website (+ LocalBusiness-style structured data)**  
+   - Discovery: Entity presence in web indexes used by Claude, Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini Overviews-like flows.  
+   - Recommendation: Services, FAQs, pricing, proof; often the depth layer after a thin directory hit.  
+   - Evidence: Steady Demand (AI Overviews cite sites heavily); Yext citation research (vendor); BrightLocal.
+
+5. **Foursquare Places**  
+   - Discovery: Confirmed ChatGPT Search Places partner; syndicating graph into other apps/maps.  
+   - Recommendation: Place attributes via partner API (often invisible as a user-facing URL).  
+   - Evidence: Foursquare/ChatGPT partner announcements (primary/partner); BrightLocal aggregator matrix. Share % **UNVERIFIED**.
+
+6. **Facebook / Instagram business pages**  
+   - Discovery: Gate for Meta AI. Soft/secondary for the other five.  
+   - Recommendation: Meta reviews, posts, catalogs.  
+   - Evidence: Meta transparency + practitioner observation.
+
+7. **Apple Business / Apple Maps**  
+   - Discovery: Critical inside Apple (Maps, Siri, Spotlight). Weak documented direct discovery for the six chatbots.  
+   - Recommendation: Apple place card quality; Yelp historically supplies Apple Maps.  
+   - Evidence: Apple Business newsroom 2026; Axios (Yelp → Apple Maps).
+
+8. **Niche directories + MapQuest / TripAdvisor-class sites**  
+   - Discovery: Matter when models browse listing domains for "best X in city" and vertical queries.  
+   - Recommendation: Category-specific trust and UGC.  
+   - Evidence: Yext/Foundation citation tallies (vendor).
+
+9. **Localeze/TransUnion, Data Axle, SafeGraph, Yext**  
+   - Discovery: Indirect only (feed or sync into destinations above).  
+   - Recommendation: None as a named AI corpus.  
+   - Evidence: BrightLocal aggregator distribution tables; ALTERNATE/CONCEPT honesty flags. Do not invent aggregator → AI lift %.
+
+---
+
+## 6. Practical owner checklist (discovery first)
+
+1. **Be discoverable on the graph each assistant actually queries**
+   - Gemini: complete, accurate Google Business Profile.
+   - Copilot: Bing Places + pages Bing indexes (Bing Webmaster).
+   - ChatGPT: Yelp claim + Foursquare presence/partner path + Bing-visible site/listing.
+   - Perplexity: Yelp + crawlable site + clean listing pages.
+   - Claude: crawlable site and reputable third-party mentions (no Places API shortcut).
+   - Meta AI: Facebook and Instagram business profiles (and WhatsApp Business where relevant).
+
+2. **Only then deepen recommendation signals**
+   - Reviews and owner responses (Google, Yelp, Meta as applicable).
+   - Website pages that answer services, hours, service area, pricing, FAQs (with schema).
+   - Action paths where offered (reserve, quote, waitlist partners).
+
+3. **Use aggregators and publishers as hygiene**
+   - Localeze / Data Axle / Yext: keep name, address, and phone consistent so stale twins do not regenerate onto long-tail sites.
+   - Do not treat Completeness Score or aggregator paywalls as proof of AI discovery.
+   - Prove with **re-asking the assistants** on real local queries, not vendor scores alone.
+
+---
+
+## 7. Sources (selected)
+
+**Primary / official**
+
+- Google: [Grounding with Google Maps](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/maps-grounding); [Maps grounding launch post](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/grounding-google-maps-gemini-api/)
+- OpenAI: local services / restaurant reservation conversion feed specs on developers.openai.com; ChatGPT Search help (third-party search + location to trusted local providers)
+- Microsoft: Copilot public web access → Bing Search; Bing Places owner help
+- Anthropic: Claude web_search tool docs
+- Apple: [Apple Business announcement](https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2026/03/introducing-apple-business-a-new-all-in-one-platform-for-businesses-of-all-sizes/)
+- Yelp ↔ OpenAI: [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/07/23/yelp-reviews-chatgpt-geo-partnership); [Yelp blog](https://blog.yelp.com/news/yelp-chatgpt-integration/)
+- Yelp ↔ Perplexity: [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/12/24098728/perplexity-chatbot-yelp-suggestions-data-ai)
+
+**Practitioner / vendor (directional; label bias)**
+
+- Steady Demand: AI Overviews vs AI Mode local citation mix
+- BrightLocal: Local AI Visibility; AI search listing sources; aggregator distribution matrix
+- SOCi LVI 2026: ChatGPT vs Google top-3 location coverage (vendor)
+- Search Engine Journal: AI data sources table (Chris Green, Sep 2026)
+- Yext Scout / Foundation–AirOps Yelp citation studies
+- Repo SoT cross-check: `docs/ALTERNATE_BUSINESS_PROPOSAL.md`, `docs/SELF_SERVE_AI_DISCOVERABILITY_CONCEPT.md` (SEO Desk synthesis 2026-10-01)
+
+**Popularity metrics**
+
+- Statcounter AI chatbot market share; First Page Sage / Momentic-style visit-share panels; MAU figures from company earnings (Meta AI, Gemini app, ChatGPT WAU). Prefer dated, metric-labeled cites in external copy.
+
+---
+
+## 8. Open flags
+
+- Re-verify top-six popularity quarterly; DeepSeek/Grok may displace a slot on traffic-only charts.
+- Re-verify Foursquare↔ChatGPT share claims only against OpenAI or Foursquare primary docs (magnitude currently UNVERIFIED).
+- No invented Localeze/Data Axle → AI mention lift.
+- Meta AI ranking recipe not published by Meta.
+- Claude search index provider not confirmed by Anthropic.