Economic Development

Companies and site selectors increasingly ask answer engines like ChatGPT where to build before anyone calls an economic developer. This hub covers how regions appear, or fail to appear, in those answers, including Regional Silent Exclusion and AI Narrative Drift.

Articles in Economic Development

• Economic Development

  How Does AI Describe Your Region to Companies Deciding Where to Build?

  Answer engines like ChatGPT now shape early business research, and published studies show their answers about places can vary and skew. Here is what the evidence says and what economic developers should test first.

• Economic Development

  How to Audit What AI Says About Your Region: A Step by Step Test for Economic Developers

  A practical test for economic development organizations: twelve prompts, three runs each, and a fact check against your own record, to see how ChatGPT describes your region.

• Economic Development

  Why Does ChatGPT Give Different Site Selection Shortlists to the Same Question?

  The Site Selectors Guild saw repeat questions produce different shortlists, and a 2026 study found one brand's visibility ranged from 15.5% to 59.5% by engine. Here is how to measure variation instead of guessing.

• Economic Development

  Does AI Describe Your Region by the Criteria Site Selectors Now Use? A 2026 Checklist

  Site selectors now screen on power, water, talent, and community acceptance. Here is a worksheet for checking whether ChatGPT's description of your region reflects those criteria and your own documented evidence.

• Economic Development

  How Should an Economic Development Organization Choose an AI Visibility Program?

  Three realistic options exist for an economic development organization: staff training, in house testing, or a regional narrative audit. Here is how to choose, and what to ask any partner.

• Economic Development

  How Do Answer Engines Describe Regions? A Guide for Economic Development Organizations

  Answer engines like ChatGPT can leave a region out or describe it with outdated facts. This guide covers the evidence, how to test your own region, and how to choose a next step.