# Florida Landscaper AI Visibility Study

> The lowest AI visibility of any industry. 35% of queries returned no recommendation at all.

*April 2026* · *Florida* · *Landscaping*

## Study scope

- **571 AI queries tested** — Across 5 landscaping specialties: landscaper, lawn care, landscape designer, irrigation, tree trimming
- **10 Florida metro areas** — Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Naples, Sarasota, Tallahassee, St. Pete
- **5 AI platforms tested** — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Claude
- **12 Queries per city/specialty** — 3 query types per specialty: best in city, need one taking customers, top rated with reviews

## Headline numbers

- **571** AI Queries Tested
- **10** Florida Metro Areas
- **5** AI Platforms Analyzed
- **0** Landscapers on All 5

## Key findings

- **64.8% — Named Landscapers.** AI platforms named specific local landscapers only 64.8% of the time. This is the lowest A-Response Rate of any industry Local Vitals has studied.
- **99.3% — Single Platform.** 99.3% of landscapers appeared on just one AI platform. This is the worst cross-platform fragmentation we have measured.
- **0 — On All 5 Platforms.** Not a single landscaper appeared on all five AI platforms tested. Zero.
- **21.2% — Google AI Gap.** Google AI Overviews triggered just 21.2% of the time for landscaping searches, the lowest trigger rate of any industry we have studied.
- **40.4% — Tree Trimming Visibility.** AI almost never recommends tree trimmers by name. Tree trimming had the lowest specialty response rate in the study.
- **4.8% — Franchise Share.** National franchise brands account for only 4.8% of AI recommendations. Independent landscapers own 95.2% of AI visibility.
- **91.1% — West Palm Anomaly.** West Palm Beach leads all cities at 91.1%, the opposite of its pattern in every other industry we have studied.
- **75.4% — Lawn Care Leads.** Lawn care queries have the highest specialty response rate at 75.4%. AI is most willing to name businesses for routine maintenance work.

## What the data shows

- **Landscaping has the lowest AI response rate of any industry we have studied.** Only 64.8% of queries returned a specific local landscaper by name. More than one in three searches gets no recommendation at all.
- **Tree trimming is nearly invisible to AI.** Only 40.4% of tree trimming queries resulted in a named business. Ask an AI for a tree trimmer and there is a good chance it tells you nothing useful.
- **Google AI Overviews barely exist for landscaping.** AI Overviews triggered just 21.2% of the time for landscaping searches. That is the lowest AIO trigger rate of any industry we have measured.
- **Fragmentation is the worst we have seen.** 99.3% of the 1,517 landscapers named appeared on just one AI platform. Not a single landscaper appeared on three or more platforms.
- **West Palm Beach is an anomaly.** West Palm Beach leads all cities with a 91.1% A-Response Rate, the opposite of its pattern in other industries. Every other city falls between 56.7% and 73.3%.
- **Houzz is a significant citation source.** Houzz appeared in 79 queries, making it the third most cited source for landscaping, ahead of Thumbtack and HomeAdvisor. This is unique to this industry.
- **Franchises have almost no presence.** National franchise brands account for only 4.8% of AI recommendations. Local independents own 95.2% of landscaping AI visibility.
- **Angi and Yelp still lead, but the citation mix is broader.** Angi was cited 180 times and Yelp 132 times, but landscaping draws from more sources than most industries, including Houzz, Nextdoor, and Facebook.

## Platform comparison

| Platform | A-Response Rate | Queries |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Claude | 100% | 3/3 |
| ChatGPT | 92% | 138/150 |
| Gemini | 81.3% | 122/150 |
| Perplexity | 54.7% | 82/150 |
| Google AI Overview | 21.2% | 25/118 |

## Results by city

| City | A-Response Rate |
| --- | --- |
| West Palm Beach | 91.1% |
| Tallahassee | 73.3% |
| Tampa | 68.3% |
| Jacksonville | 68.3% |
| Miami | 65.1% |
| Naples | 60% |
| St. Pete | 60% |
| Sarasota | 56.9% |
| Orlando | 56.7% |
| Ft. Lauderdale | 56.7% |

## The bottom line

> If your landscaping business only shows up on Google, you are invisible on 4 out of 5 AI platforms where customers are searching. And at 21.2%, Google AI Overviews barely show up for landscaping at all.

AI barely knows landscaping exists. With the lowest response rate, lowest Google AIO trigger rate, and worst fragmentation of any industry we have studied, landscapers have a visibility gap that is far larger than most owners realize. The businesses that get into AI data sources now will be competing against almost no one.

## Methodology

571 queries were run across ChatGPT (GPT-4o with search), Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Claude during April 2026. Queries covered 10 Florida metro areas and 5 landscaping specialties. Claude data reflects a partial sample (3 queries). Every response was coded by type (local business named, general advice, franchise only, platform referral, or not triggered). No sponsored placements or paid tools were used. Full methodology is included in the report.

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Source: https://getlocalvitals.com/research/florida-landscaper-ai-visibility
Published by Local Vitals · https://getlocalvitals.com