What ChatGPT reads when a client asks for a New York interior designer

When a client asks an AI assistant for a New York interior designer, the answer leans on Architectural Digest, ELLE Decor and a handful of older lists. We asked about New York or Brooklyn for 14 high-end studios, and 1 came up, once. An Architectural Digest list last updated in 2024 was still cited in 12 of 84 answers.

What did we check?

This is the New York part of our check of 224 studios. Between 21 October and 2 November 2026 we asked ChatGPT, with web search on, and Perplexity three questions a client might type, about New York for 10 studios and about Brooklyn for 4. For example: "Who are the best interior designers in New York?" For 5 of the 14 we changed a question to fit their work. As in the whole check, each question asked for a short ranked list with one line per studio.

That makes 84 answers. A studio came up if an answer named it in its own words. The one mention came from ChatGPT, and the question was about residential architects, not interior designers. So for the plain interior design questions, none of the 14 came up.

These are studios we looked at as possible clients, mostly with a website we thought could be better. They don't represent every New York studio, and we don't name them here.

What did the answers cite?

Perplexity's counts are a minimum, because it cites by number and we kept only its first 8 pages per answer. Houzz was among those 8 in 38 of its 42 answers, far more often than it was cited.

ChatGPT stays close to the magazines. Perplexity reads more widely, including lists made by brands and shops.

Old pages keep working

Architectural Digest's list of Brooklyn designers¹ was last updated in August 2024, and it was still cited in 12 answers. Gessato's list² shows no date at all, and it was cited in at least 13. The 2026 ELLE Decor A-List³, from June, was cited in 6.

So a place on a list can keep paying off for years, and being left off one can last as long. It also means a list can be out of date and still be quoted. If a list names your studio, check once in a while that what it says is still right.

Do the answers repeat those lists?

Often, but New York has a second effect that London shows less: some names get named anyway.

• All 12 answers that cited Architectural Digest's Brooklyn list named at least one of its 22 designers, about 3 on average. Of the 72 that did not cite it, 10 did.
• All 13 answers that cited Gessato's list named at least one of its 22, about 3 on average. Of the 71 that did not cite it, 30 did.

So well-known studios reach the answers by more than one route. That is why a single list can't explain who gets named.

Were the studios we checked on these lists?

Almost none. We searched each page for the studio's name and web address. 1 of the 14 was on Fromwhere's list. None was on Gessato's list, Architectural Digest's Brooklyn list, Homedit's list, Boca do Lobo's list or the A-List.

Architectural Digest's list is drawn from the AD PRO Directory. The directory's page⁴ says "Apply to join the industry's newest roster of design talent, curated by the editors of AD". The page we read gives no price, and we can't say that joining would put a studio in an answer. Gessato's list gives no way to be nominated, and says its picks are in alphabetical order so that "we love these designers equally".

A specific question reads other pages

On 4 November we also asked "best luxury minimalist interior designer in New York", twice, in both assistants. Two runs are a small sample. ChatGPT cited 6 pages. 4 were studios' own sites, including an about page and a project page, and 2 were lists: Architectural Digest's AD100 debuts and the 1stDibs 50.

So even for a narrower question, a studio's own pages can be the source. They just have to say the thing the client asked for, in words.

What can a New York studio do?

1. Ask by neighbourhood and building. Your client may not type "New York". Try your borough, and the kind of home you work on, in both assistants.
2. Write those words on your project pages. The neighbourhood, the building type, its age, what was done. A brownstone, a loft or a pre-war apartment, if that is what it was. Our guide to the project page gives the order.
3. Say your style in plain words. If your work is minimal, the word has to be on your site. An assistant quotes words, not photographs.
4. Ask lists to correct what they say about you. Your name, your web address, your borough and your kind of work. Old pages stay in use, so a small fix can last.
5. Keep your Houzz profile complete. Perplexity looks at Houzz in almost every answer, so it should say the same as your own site.
6. Show your press in words. Press on an interior designer's website shows how.

None of this guarantees a place in an answer. No one can honestly promise that. In a city with this many known names, the broad question will leave most studios out, however good the work is.

Where do you stand?

Run the free AI check: it asks ChatGPT and Perplexity three questions about your city, live, and shows whether your studio comes up and who is named instead.

fioel is in Amsterdam, not New York. We have no New York office, and we work with interior studios worldwide, online.