When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity "where should I go?", the AI answers with names. This index measures — for the first time in the UAE — whose names actually come up. Not guessed. Measured.
Pilot Wave — July 2026 · Wave 1 (100+ businesses) in progressOne surveyed venue holds a 4.6★ rating across 6,270 reviews — and was named by AI in zero of five buyer queries. Another at 4.8★ with 1,720 reviews: also zero. "We collect reviews, so we're covered" did not survive contact with the data.
One venue was named by AI in every single query we asked — yet never appeared in the Maps top 3. Another dominates Maps (7 of 8 queries) but barely registers with AI. Optimising only for the map means playing half the game.
Ten venues is far too small a sample to prove anything — which is exactly why Wave 1 scales this measurement past 100 businesses. We publish what we can defend, and test the rest.
Search behaviour is shifting from links to answers. A growing share of "best X near me" decisions — by residents, tourists and corporate buyers — starts inside an AI assistant, and the assistant replies with a handful of names, not a page of results. Global brands have already moved budget to this channel. In the UAE, almost no one is even measuring it yet.
If AI never says your name, you are invisible to that entire slice of demand — and you will not see it in any dashboard you currently use, because nobody's analytics show the recommendation you didn't get.
| Sample | 10 restaurants, Dubai (F&B pilot) |
| Measured | 20 July 2026 |
| AI engine | Google Gemini (gemini-flash-latest), buyer-intent queries per venue |
| Map presence | 8 local buyer queries per venue, Google Maps top-3 counted |
| Technical checks | schema.org structured data, llms.txt, website availability & response |
| Anonymity | Public results are aggregates only; each venue's own numbers are shared privately with that venue on request |
| Known limits | AI answers vary run to run — results are a dated snapshot of tendency, not a permanent rank. n=10 is a pilot: directional, not conclusive. |
We run the same measurement used for this index on your business: AI mentions, Maps presence, structured data and website health, scored 0–100 with the weak points identified. Private to you. No obligation.