Cardiff & South Wales AI Visibility Report 2026

By Zalan Khan, founder of Get AI Picked, Newport · Published 4 November 2026

We asked ChatGPT (with live web search, UK location) four everyday questions a customer might type, such as "Who is the best plumber in Cardiff?", for 31 independent businesses in Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend, Cwmbran and Caerphilly on 22 and 23 October 2026, and recorded whether each business was named.

Key findings

• 15 of 31 South Wales businesses (48%) were not named by ChatGPT for any of the four questions.
• In Cardiff, 7 of the 9 plumbers and garages tested (78%) were not named at all; the average Cardiff score was 27 out of 100.
• None of the 4 Cardiff garages and none of the 3 Newport plumbers we tested was named.
• Every dentist (Caerphilly) and electrician (Cwmbran) we tested was named at least once, showing results depend heavily on trade and town.
• Of the 25 websites we could check, 20 (80%) had missing or weak FAQ content and 15 (60%) had missing or incomplete Schema.org structured data. Only 2 passed every basic check.
• The average AI visibility score across all 31 businesses was 42 out of 100 (median 42).

Results by trade and town

Swipe sideways to see the full table →

What the named businesses had in common

The businesses ChatGPT named were usually the ones whose websites clearly stated the service and the town, and that appear consistently on directories and review sites. Firms that weren't named were more likely to have no LocalBusiness structured data and no question-and-answer content that matches how people actually ask AI for a recommendation.

How this compares with the UK

Our UK study of 414 businesses found 65% weren't recommended by any of four AI assistants. This South Wales sample is smaller and used ChatGPT only, so the two figures aren't directly comparable.

Method and limits

31 independent businesses across 8 trade and town combinations, found from public listings. ChatGPT (gpt-4o-mini with web search, UK approximate location), four questions per trade and town, one answer each, default settings. The score out of 100 combines how often the business was named with basic website checks (structured data, FAQ content, contact details, page titles). Five sites blocked our automated check and one had no website. AI answers change between runs, so treat every figure as a snapshot. Individual businesses are not named. Full method: how we test AI visibility.

Cite this research

Get AI Picked (2026). Cardiff & South Wales AI Visibility Report 2026. https://getaipicked.co.uk/research/cardiff-south-wales-ai-visibility-report-2026. Free to quote with a link (CC BY 4.0).