We asked Perplexity "best architect in [town], UK" once for each of 20 UK towns, on 28 September 2026. The answers named an average of 4.2 firms each, and every answer named at least one.
This page is one of seven written from the same batch of September 2026 questions, covering accountants; architects; solicitors doing conveyancing; physiotherapists; dentists; solicitors in general and family law; and vets. Each page reports only the answers for its own trade, counted separately from the others.
Which sites get cited
houzz.co.uk was cited in 18 of the 20 answers, more than any other source, and its sister site houzz.com in 15 of the 20. architecture.com, RIBA's own Find an Architect directory, was cited in 14 of the 20 answers, and riba.org, the wider RIBA site, in 12 of the 20. cylex-uk.co.uk followed in 8 of 20.
architecture.com and riba.org are not independent directories: they are the professional body's own register and website. We list them here because they were cited often in this sample, not because we treat them the same as a commercial directory.
Five things to check first
- Search your own trade and town the way a client would, and read the list of sources under the answer, not only the names in bold.
- Claim and complete a Houzz profile if you do not already have one: portfolio photos, service area, and the project types you take on.
- Check your RIBA Chartered Practice listing on architecture.com is current, if your practice holds that status.
- Check the same basic details, your business name and address and your phone number, match across Houzz, Cylex and your own site.
- Repeat the search for your own town occasionally. This is one run per question; a second run on another day can name different practices.
None of the five sites above is the architect's own website. A strong portfolio page on your own site is still worth having, but it answers a different question to the one we logged here, which is the list of sources Perplexity showed under its answer about your trade and town.
What this means in practice
Four of the five most-cited sources in this sample are either Houzz, on two separate domains, or RIBA's own listings. cylex-uk.co.uk, a general local directory, trailed behind the other four at 8 of 20. For architects specifically, this sample points to Houzz and RIBA's own pages as the sources cited most often, ahead of general local directories.
Method and limits
- Engine: Perplexity only. We also track Google AI Overviews separately; this page covers Perplexity.
- 20 questions, one UK town each, answered once, on 28 September 2026.
- A source counts once per answer even if the domain appears more than once in that answer's source list; "cited in X of 20" means X separate answers listed that domain somewhere.
- We do not name any architecture practice on this page. The figures above come from our own run of these questions and can be checked by repeating them and reading the source lists.
If you want to see what Perplexity and Google AI Overviews currently say about your own practice, request a free GEO audit.