AI SEO Statistics: Garden Center Websites (2026-07 edition)

Reading the 117 answers model by model shows how differently the three assistants treat the same garden center websites questions. On the most consequential behavior — whether to send the buyer to a professional at all — the rate ranged from 28.2% (ChatGPT) down to 17.9% (Claude), a 10-point gap on an identical question set.

Across the 39 garden center websites answers it produced, ChatGPT recommended hiring a professional in 28.2% of them and suggested a DIY approach first 28.2% of the time. It named a specific provider in 7.7% of answers (about 0.3 distinct providers per answer) and included price or cost information 20.5% of the time. ChatGPT asked a clarifying question before answering in 66.7% of cases, warned about red flags or scams in 23.1%, and told the buyer to verify credentials in 2.6%, averaging 453 words per answer. On the remaining cues it told the buyer to check reviews in 10.3%, pointed to case studies or a portfolio in 2.6%, and framed the choice around local proximity in 46.2%; a selection-criteria checklist appeared in 61.5% of its answers and a recommendation to gather multiple quotes in 15.4%.

Across the 39 garden center websites answers it produced, Claude recommended hiring a professional in 17.9% of them and suggested a DIY approach first 10.3% of the time. It named a specific provider in 20.5% of answers (about 0.5 distinct providers per answer) and included price or cost information 28.2% of the time. Claude asked a clarifying question before answering in 61.5% of cases, warned about red flags or scams in 20.5%, and told the buyer to verify credentials in 7.7%, averaging 270 words per answer. On the remaining cues it told the buyer to check reviews in 7.7%, pointed to case studies or a portfolio in 5.1%, and framed the choice around local proximity in 43.6%; a selection-criteria checklist appeared in 56.4% of its answers and a recommendation to gather multiple quotes in 7.7%.

Across the 39 garden center websites answers it produced, Gemini recommended hiring a professional in 17.9% of them and suggested a DIY approach first 12.8% of the time. It named a specific provider in 28.2% of answers (about 1.2 distinct providers per answer) and included price or cost information 30.8% of the time. Gemini asked a clarifying question before answering in 0% of cases, warned about red flags or scams in 12.8%, and told the buyer to verify credentials in 5.1%, averaging 270 words per answer. On the remaining cues it told the buyer to check reviews in 2.6%, pointed to case studies or a portfolio in 0%, and framed the choice around local proximity in 38.5%; a selection-criteria checklist appeared in 43.6% of its answers and a recommendation to gather multiple quotes in 0%.

Taken together, ChatGPT is the assistant most likely to route a garden center websites buyer to a professional (28.2%) and Claude the least (17.9%). ChatGPT produced the longest answers, at 453 words on average. Specific providers were named most often by Gemini (28.2%) — even there, roughly one answer in 4 carried a name.

On other behaviors the three models move almost in lockstep — the points of near-consensus for garden center websites, where all three landed within a few points of each other:

• Tells the buyer to verify credentials: 2.6%–7.7% across all three (a 5-point spread).
• Mentions case studies or portfolio: 0%–5.1% across all three (a 5-point spread).
• Tells the buyer to check reviews: 2.6%–10.3% across all three (a 8-point spread).
• Mentions local proximity: 38.5%–46.2% across all three (a 8-point spread).

Measured question by question, the three assistants coded a response the same way most consistently on "tells the buyer to verify credentials" (identical coding in 94.9% of questions) and least consistently on "asks a clarifying question" (17.9%).

Beyond whether to hire, the rubric codes how carefully each assistant protects the garden center websites buyer once a decision is made. Telling the buyer to check reviews or ratings appeared in 6.9% of answers on average. Verifying credentials or certifications appeared in 5.1%. Warning about red flags or scams appeared in 18.8%.

On structuring the decision, a selection-criteria checklist showed up in 53.8% of answers on average and a recommendation to gather multiple quotes in 7.7%. The single least-reproduced protective signal for garden center websites is "tells the buyer to verify credentials" at 5.1% on average — the clearest opening for content that supplies it, since the models are not yet reliably surfacing that guidance on their own.

The 39 questions behind every percentage on this page were drawn from real garden center websites (home services; buyer hiring decisions for this specific service) buyer journeys. Each was put to all 3 models once, with identical wording, so the rates above describe how the assistants handled this exact garden center websites question set — not a general prior or a hand-picked subset. The full list is shown earlier on this page; the coded percentages are what those specific questions produced.