A local discovery story, with the evidence attached.
The September Lubbock study compares 6,000 sampled Google and AI responses across 20 business verticals. Use the findings, download the charts or contact Caleb Monroe to discuss the research.
Editorial update: September 11, 2026. The lead stories now incorporate the reviewed Google-to-AI comparison using the same 6,000 observations. What changed · Original article and media brief
Three local story angles
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.
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.
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.
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.
Charts for your story
Charts may be reused with attribution. Keep the denominator, date and explanatory caption with each chart. SVG files are editable vector graphics; PNG versions are also included in the release downloads.
Google-visible, rarely named on at least one AI platform
Tracked business website groups, not all Lubbock businesses
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.
Biography supplied and approved by Caleb Monroe. Research contact and authorship do not imply independent peer review.
How to describe the research accurately
Call it a descriptive Lubbock study of sampled Google and AI responses. The current edition is not a statewide business ranking, consumer market-share survey, measure of business quality or proof of what causes an algorithm to rank a company.
Use “was named in the sampled answers” rather than “was recommended” for the lexical business examples. Use “appeared in the sampled Google top ten” rather than “has this permanent Google ranking.”
Suggested attribution
Source: Monsoon Research Lab, Texas AI Search Visibility Index: Lubbock Edition, September 2026, descriptive study v2.
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.
Questions and corrections
Send the edition URL, claim or evidence key, and supporting information to caleb.m@growwithmonsoon.com. The version history explains the revised prompt and affected counts.
