September 2026 snapshot. Answers collected September 26, 2026. Re-checked every month. Matt Turley, Continuum.
In our September 2026 check, we asked ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini 10 questions a buyer in Minneapolis would ask, three times each. The web designers named most often were Plaudit Design, UPQODE and Windmill Strategy. Plaudit Design was named on 14 of 30 checks, by all three AI tools.
| Business | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Plaudit Design | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14 |
| 2. UPQODE | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 3. Windmill Strategy | 6 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| 4. Mankato Web Design | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 5. Minneapolis Made | 4 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| 6. Origin Eight | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| 7. Thrive Internet Marketing Agency | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 8. ProWeb365 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 9. ThrillX | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 10. 8bitstudio | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 11. Brand Vision | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 12. Perrill | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 13. Clockwork | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 14. Rocket55 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 15. August Ash | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
Each number is how many of the 10 questions that AI tool named the business on, in at least 2 of three runs. Total is out of 30 checks (10 questions on three AI tools). The top 15 of 99 businesses named are shown.
The tools do not agree with each other, and the same tool can give a different list on a different day. That is why every check is asked three times and only a name that shows up in most runs is counted.
Before an AI tool names a web designer, it reads other pages. These are the directories, lists and forums it cited most for these questions. They are where a business gets listed or mentioned, so they are shown here and never ranked above.
| Site | Type | Cited in |
|---|---|---|
| clutch.co | Directory or review site | 73 of 90 |
| designrush.com | Directory or review site | 50 of 90 |
| goodfirms.co | Directory or review site | 40 of 90 |
| expertise.com | Directory or review site | 33 of 90 |
| agencies.semrush.com | Directory or review site | 24 of 90 |
| themanifest.com | Directory or review site | 20 of 90 |
| onelittleweb.com | Best-of list | 16 of 90 |
| upwork.com | Marketplace | 16 of 90 |
| webtonic.io | Best-of list | 16 of 90 |
| minneapolismade.com | Best-of list | 14 of 90 |
This is a snapshot of September 2026. We asked ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini the same 10 questions a buyer looking for a web designer in Minneapolis would ask, three times each, through each company's own API with live web search on. Answers were collected September 26, 2026.
The rule for "named". A business counts as named in an answer only when its name is written in the answer text. A link or a source chip with its website does not count. On each check (one question on one AI tool), a business counts when it is named in at least 2 of the three runs. A run that failed is left out, never counted as a miss.
Directories and platforms. Directories, review sites, best-of lists and software platforms are not ranked, even when an answer names them. The ones the tools cited are listed in the sources above.
Updates. The page is re-checked every month with the same questions, and the month at the top of the page always says which snapshot you are reading. Not being on this list says nothing about the quality of a business, only that it was not named in most runs of these answers.
Data: 90 answers, probe run r-20260926T0706Z-lb-web-design-minneapolis-03af, snapshot of September 26, 2026.
When a buyer asks ChatGPT who to hire, the answer is a short list. The AI Answer Check ($299) shows whether ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini name you for your buyers’ questions, who they name instead, and the fixes worth doing. Want a quick look first? Run the free AI visibility check.
Want to be the name the answer gives? That is what Get Users is for: $1,200 a month, month to month.