AI Local Search: What ChatGPT and Gemini Mean for You

If you have noticed fewer visits to your website while customers still arrive, part of the explanation may be that some people now get a name and a phone number from an assistant and never open a results page. Before assuming that, check your Business Profile performance report, because calls and direction requests do not show up in website analytics.

How much has actually changed

Less than the headlines suggest, according to the people who study it. In the introduction to the 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, published in November 2025, author Darren Shaw writes that local search has been somewhat insulated from the AI upheaval. Sites that publish information have seen traffic fall after AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT and Gemini arrived, he says, but research and discovery of local businesses is still mostly done through Google's local results. That is one expert's reading of a survey of 47 local search experts, not a measurement of every search, and it may shift. It does argue against dropping Google Maps work to chase the assistants.

Google's AI features: no separate rulebook

Google's documentation on AI features and your website says there are no additional requirements to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode and no other special optimizations necessary. It says no special schema.org markup is needed, and that you do not need new machine-readable files or AI text files. A page must be indexed and eligible to be shown in Search with a snippet. Google adds that these features may use a "query fan-out" technique, running multiple related searches across subtopics, which is a reason to cover the follow-up questions a customer would ask.

For Gemini, Google's help page on Gemini apps and connected services lists Google Maps among the Google services whose public information Gemini automatically uses. So the details on your Business Profile can reach Gemini answers. The page does not describe how a business is chosen, and neither does Google anywhere we could find.

Whitespark's guide to Google's AI Mode for local businesses (May 2026) adds observations from testing. It reports that AI Mode draws on Business Profile data, reviews and unstructured citations such as blogs and niche sites, that different users may see different results for the same query, and that ranking in the local pack is not a guarantee of equal visibility in AI Mode. It also found the AI can be wrong, giving the example of a restaurant described as dog-friendly because of a former tenant's policy.

ChatGPT: less certain

We could not confirm a published list of ChatGPT's local data sources from OpenAI, so treat any confident claim with caution. In a September 2025 article, Whitespark quoted analyst Greg Sterling saying ChatGPT has historically used Bing for web search and Bing Places to power its local results, though not exclusively. Whitespark added that ChatGPT's own account of whether it uses Bing Places or Maps data was confused and contradictory, that it was not seeing Google Business Profile results in ChatGPT at the time, and that there was no firm industry consensus. This may have changed since, so test it yourself rather than rely on it.

What experts say improves AI visibility

For 2026, Whitespark asked its experts to score each factor for its impact on AI search responses as well as for Google rankings. The highest-scoring AI search visibility factors were:

1. Presence of the business on expert-curated "best of" and similar lists
2. A dedicated page for each service
3. Prominence on key industry-relevant websites
4. Quality and authority of unstructured citations, such as newspaper articles, blog posts, government sites and industry associations
5. Authority of the third-party sites on which reviews appear

Whitespark's author notes that three of the top five are citation factors, and that in AI search mentions of your business work as the new link. These are opinions from experienced practitioners, not tests of any one assistant, and the author points out that scores could differ by platform. They still make a usable checklist, because the same things help customers.

What to do about it

• Make the facts agree. Name, address, phone number, hours and services should read the same on your website, Business Profile and listings. Our guide to how AI reads your website shows what to check.
• Write one clear page per service. Say what it is, where you offer it, what it costs if you can say, and how to book. Answer the questions customers ask in plain words. This is also what the AI search glossary entry describes.
• Collect reviews where they count. Google reviews come first. Then look at which review and directory sites matter in your industry and ask happy customers there too. Never offer anything in return, which Google prohibits.
• Get mentioned elsewhere. Local blogs, news pages, industry associations and community sites can all carry your name. Whitespark suggests community engagement and op-eds in small local newspapers.
• Keep the Google basics current. The ranking factors in how Google Maps ranking works still decide most local discovery.

Check what the assistants say about you

Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI Mode for the best business in your category in your area, using several phrasings a customer might use. Note who is named, what is said about them and which sources are cited. Repeat it in a few weeks. Whitespark found that AI Mode results can differ by user, so treat it as a sample rather than a ranking. If an answer about your business is wrong, trace it to the listing or page that holds the wrong detail and fix that source.

For the wider picture on building this over time, see the foundations of organic growth. If you work in the Philippines, local SEO in the Philippines applies this to local conditions.