We checked 69 Chicago-area small businesses. 65 had at least one wrong, missing or conflicting detail.

"Of 67" or "of 53" means we could only answer that question for that many businesses. For example, we can't judge a website's answers when there is no website.

1. The wrong information often started with the owner. In one case, the only listing the owner had verified put the business in the wrong town. In another, a sample phone number from a website form, (555) 678-1234, ended up on a directory as the business's real number.
2. For one neighbourhood's locksmith search, 22 of the 30 results were anonymous call centres. A real shop that has been open for 30 years was buried among them.
3. A Polish-speaking insurance agent shows as "English" only on the insurance companies' own agent finders. Polish customers who filter by language never see him.

Customers, maps apps and AI assistants all read these pages. When the pages disagree, a customer may call a dead number, drive to an old address, or show up when you're closed. An assistant may simply pick the wrong answer, or skip your business.

• 69 different businesses, in about 40 towns and about 50 trades.
• The businesses were chosen for variety, not at random. This is not a study of all Chicago businesses.
• Some problems are small, such as a missing word in a name or hours that differ by half an hour. We still counted them, because a customer can't tell which one is right.
• We did not check Google's own business profiles, Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor or AI assistants for these numbers.
• We don't publish the names of the businesses we checked.
• We plan to check more businesses in November and will update this page with the date.