# Lubbock Google and AI search: media brief Monsoon Research Lab | September 2026 | lubbock-2026-09-descriptive-study-v2 Study: https://growwithmonsoon.com/research/texas-ai-search-visibility-index/lubbock/2026-09/ Media and corrections contact: Caleb Monroe, caleb.m@growwithmonsoon.com ## In one paragraph Monsoon Research Lab compared 6,000 selected, machine-usable responses across Google Organic, Google Maps, ChatGPT Search, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity. The Lubbock study covers 20 verticals, five paired questions per vertical and ten repetitions. It documents differences between sampled discovery surfaces, not consumer behavior or business quality. ## Three local stories ### Google visibility does not guarantee regular appearances in AI answers About 57% (139 of 244) of tracked business website groups that appeared in Google's sampled top ten were rarely detected on at least one AI platform. This is low detection in sampled answers, not complete absence from AI. A Lubbock business story about visibility across changing discovery interfaces. Ask owners whether they measure where their names appear. Do not infer lost customers or revenue from these counts. Evidence: https://growwithmonsoon.com/research/texas-ai-search-visibility-index/lubbock/2026-09/data/#editorial-evidence ### Which AI assistant you ask can change which Lubbock businesses you hear about CoNetrix was named in 50/50 sampled ChatGPT answers and 0/50 Claude answers. Gorilla Law Firm showed the opposite contrast: 1/50 on ChatGPT and 40/50 on Claude. These are examples of platform differences, not a ranking of the assistants. A practical consumer story: compare the options returned by different assistants when looking for a local service. These two examples illustrate variation, not typical performance for every business. Evidence: https://growwithmonsoon.com/research/texas-ai-search-visibility-index/lubbock/2026-09/data/#editorial-examples ### The Google-to-AI gap reaches restaurants and dentists The pattern also appears in everyday local services: 14 of 21 tracked Google-visible restaurant website groups and 16 of 25 dentist groups were detected fewer than 5/50 times on at least one AI platform, even when known uncertain matches count as possible detections. Make the finding tangible through the businesses residents use. Interview restaurants and dental practices about discovery, without presenting the sampled groups as every local provider or judging their service quality. Evidence: https://growwithmonsoon.com/research/texas-ai-search-visibility-index/lubbock/2026-09/data/#editorial-sectors ## Reading the updated figures Rare means fewer than 10% of sampled answers on at least one of four AI platforms: fewer than 5/50 for a single-vertical group, or 10/100 when two verticals are pooled. It does not mean absent. The 244 tracked business website groups each appeared at least once in a sampled Google top ten. They are not a census of Lubbock businesses or 244 consistently high-ranking businesses. Names and domains are different measurements; neither is a recommendation or business-quality score. - The low-detection threshold was selected after collection. This is exploratory analysis, not a preregistered endpoint. - Reviewed name variants are included. Known uncertain matches count as possible detections; two identity-uncertain groups remain in the denominator but cannot qualify. Unknown aliases can still affect counts. - Sector counts use each vertical separately and should not be summed into a citywide total. Questions differ by vertical; ten repetitions are not ten independent consumer samples. Editorial update: September 11, 2026 (editorial-2026-09-11-v1). Same 6,000 observations; no additional collection. Original documents: https://growwithmonsoon.com/research/texas-ai-search-visibility-index/lubbock/2026-09/history/#original-v2-documents ## What the figures do not establish - Five deliberately selected prompt pairs per vertical and ten repetitions. This pilot is not a census, a representative sample of consumers or a statewide index. - Collection timestamps: 2026-09-09T16:11:24.911Z through 2026-09-11T01:57:55.453Z, UTC (September 9 to 10 in Lubbock). Repetitions may share caches or other dependencies. No independence-based confidence intervals or significance claims are made. - Scraped ChatGPT/Gemini experiences and Claude/Perplexity APIs are different configurations. ChatGPT returned no model label for 981 of 1,000 observations. Returned labels are provider-reported, not independently verified. - Gemini supplied detectable answer links in 211 of 1,000 responses. Missing source metadata is unknown attribution, not evidence of no citations. - Six ChatGPT location-clarification responses were replaced with valid retries of the same questions. One paired wrongful-death question was replaced after observing missing Maps business results, using personal injury lawyers in Lubbock and its matched AI question on all six configurations, ten repetitions each. The original 60 paired observations and earlier failed attempts remain archived. This post-collection query choice changes the estimand; the new wording is not a recovery of the old Maps result. No results are silently reclassified. - Featured business examples are deliberately selected contrasts. The broader tables preserve recorded names and domain groups, including overlapping aliases. A name match is not a recommendation, proof of branch identity or local service eligibility. Do not sum overlapping rows as market share. - Validation is automated structural and computational checking, not human annotation, peer review or measured semantic precision/recall. Complete recommendation rates, business winners and branch-level league tables are withheld. - This edition uses five question pairs per vertical. It is a bounded descriptive study, not comprehensive vertical coverage or certified category winners. The separate full Index release policy remains unchanged. ## Attribution Credit Monsoon Research Lab, Texas AI Search Visibility Index: Lubbock Edition, September 2026, descriptive study v2. Link to this edition and preserve the scope, denominator and limitations. Aggregate tables, original charts and methods may be reused with attribution. Source answers and third-party content are not licensed for redistribution. ## Producer Produced by Monsoon Research Lab. Businesses were identified through the sampled searches. Client status did not influence inclusion or the reported results, as confirmed by Monsoon. Examples illustrate observed contrasts and are not randomly selected, endorsements or business-quality rankings. Monsoon works in SEO and AI-search visibility. This study is intended as a public research resource, not a sales report. Interview comment is available on request. No quotation is attributed to an individual without their approval. ## Research contact Caleb Monroe | Founder & Partner caleb.m@growwithmonsoon.com Caleb Monroe is a co-founder and partner at Monsoon, a Lubbock, Texas digital agency he founded with Travis Gibson in 2016. Caleb leads Monsoon's AISEO, SEO, and digital strategy work, helping businesses improve how they are discovered across Google, ChatGPT, and other AI-powered search platforms. An entrepreneur and strategist, his work spans AI Search Optimization, web strategy, branding, and business growth. Outside Monsoon, Caleb serves as Executive Director of Gethsemane Foster Initiative, a West Texas nonprofit supporting foster and kinship families. His work across business and nonprofit leadership reflects a focus on building organizations, systems, and strategies that create measurable, long-term impact.