Local businesses
AI suggests, people check: what buyers do after AI names your business.
More people now ask an AI assistant to find a local business, and most of them check before they get in touch. In a 2026 survey by SOCi, which sells local marketing software, 52% of US consumers had used an AI tool to find a local business in the last 30 days. 81% of those given a recommendation checked something before getting in touch. The assistant puts you on the list; your reviews, what Google shows for your name, your website and your social pages decide how the check goes. Below are the 2026 surveys on what people check, beside our own count of what the assistants cite, and what to fix first.
Key takeaways
- Many people use AI along the way; few start there. In BrightLocal's 2026 study, 23% used AI during their latest local search and 8% started with it, while 52% started on Google Search.
- Most people given an AI recommendation check before they get in touch. 81% did in SOCi's survey, and more than 93% of AI users did in Yext's. In BrightLocal's, only 18% of AI users felt ready to contact the business an AI recommended.
- The check is reviews, Google, your website and your social pages. Reviews were the most common first check for SOCi (33%), then the business's social media (20%). In Yext's survey, 62% of AI users searched Google and 58% went to the business's website.
- Most AI users have met a wrong detail. 67% have been given wrong information about a local business at least once (SOCi).
- Directories are a minority of the websites assistants cite, but most of the ones they cite often. In our July 2026 study they were 12% to 31% of the different websites cited for a question, yet in three of the four industries, every site cited in five or more of the 40 answers was on the list.
SOCi, BrightLocal and Yext all sell software to local businesses.
How many people ask AI for a local business
Four 2026 surveys counted it six ways, and each asked a different question. Read the figures side by side, not as a trend: a month is not a year, and using AI once in a search is not starting there.
| Figure | What was measured | Who was asked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 52% | Used an AI tool to find a local business in the last 30 days (9% in 2025) | 1,000+ US consumers | SOCi, 24 September 2026 |
| 47% | Used an AI tool to find a local business in the past month | 1,120 US adults, March 2026 | Yext, 2026 |
| 45% | Used ChatGPT or other generative AI for local business recommendations in the past year (up from 6% the year before) | 1,002 US adults | BrightLocal, 11 February 2026 |
| 31% | Use AI tools for local business recommendations at least once a month | 1,227 US consumers who had searched in the last 3 months | BrightLocal, 9 July 2026 |
| 23% | Used AI at some point in their most recent local search | The same 1,227 | BrightLocal, 9 July 2026 |
| 8% | Started their most recent local search with AI (52% started on Google Search, 9% on Google Maps) | The same 1,227 | BrightLocal, 9 July 2026 |
All three publishers sell software to local businesses. Each survey asked about a thousand people in the US.
Using AI is not starting with it. In BrightLocal's survey, 23% used AI during their latest local search, but 8% started there and 52% started on Google Search. SOCi found search was the top starting point in every category it studied, and 59% of Yext's respondents named Google as a starting point (more than one answer was allowed). BrightLocal ranks AI as the third most popular source of business recommendations, after Google and Facebook. In Yext's survey, households earning $150,000 to $200,000 named AI as a starting point slightly more often than Google.
What people do after an AI names a business
81% of people given an AI recommendation check something before getting in touch, and 19% contact the business directly, according to SOCi's 2026 Local Discovery Index (24 September 2026; more than 1,000 US consumers, adjusted to match the US population). SOCi sells local marketing software, and its survey records what people said they did first:
- Got in touch directly19%
- Checked reviews33%
- Checked the business's social media20%
- Searched to confirm the details16%
- Checked several sources12%
One answer per person: the four checks add up to the 81% who checked first. SOCi, more than 1,000 US consumers, published 24 September 2026.
More than 93% of AI users take at least one step to check before acting in Yext's 2026 consumer search findings (Yext, 1,120 US adults, March 2026). Yext sells listings and search software to businesses. Its question allowed more than one answer, so these overlap:
Share of AI users who took each step; one person can take several. Yext, 1,120 US adults, March 2026.
BrightLocal's figures point the same way. In its 2026 consumer search study (9 July 2026; 1,227 US consumers), only 18% of AI users felt ready to contact the business an AI recommended; the rest kept checking on Google and elsewhere. Of the roughly 100 people whose latest search started with AI, 43% went on to check Google, 39% looked at social media and 2% used AI alone. Three in four people used more than one channel.
A UK study of legal problems points the same way. In research by the legal charity JUSTICE (1 September 2026; 3,287 adults), 16.3% of people with a legal problem had used an AI chatbot about it. Only 6% of those used the chatbot alone, and chatbot users drew on 3.7 sources on average against 1.9 for everyone else.
What decides the check
Reviews lead. In BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (11 February 2026; 1,002 US adults), 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and 41% always do. 31% will only use a business rated 4.5 stars or more, up from 17% a year earlier. 74% look for reviews written in the last three months. 82% read the review summaries that AI now writes, so your reviews also become the summary an AI writes about you.
What else counts depends on the trade. BrightLocal's decision study (15 July 2026) found that people choosing a professional service most often weigh the number of reviews (40%) and the star rating (35%), with complete information (30%) and distance (29%) about level. For health and medical, distance leads at 48%. For trades and home services, 36% cite price or deals, and reviews weigh more there than in any other industry. SOCi found reviews and word of mouth were the deciding factor in five of the eight categories it studied, from restaurants (41%) to healthcare (38%).
Most AI users have met a wrong detail
67% of AI users have been given wrong information about a local business at least once, and 30% say bad information caused them a real inconvenience (SOCi). Healthcare, where SOCi found people most often start with AI (21%), has figures of its own. In rater8's 2026 Patient Choice Report (3 June 2026; 992 US adults), 47% had used an AI tool to research or find a healthcare provider, up from 31% about nine months earlier. Among people who chose a new doctor in the past year, 36% named AI tools as an influence, about level with Google results at 34%. And 66% of AI users had seen incorrect information about a provider. rater8 sells reputation software to healthcare practices. The Pew Research Center measured health questions rather than choosing a provider: 34% of Americans ever use AI chatbots for at least one of eight health reasons (25 August 2026; 3,488 US adults). 15% use them to help decide whether to see a doctor.
So the check is also a correction. If an assistant gives someone the wrong opening hours, or a service you do not offer, your website and your Google listing are where they can find the right answer, as long as both have it and agree.
Which websites the assistants cited
The surveys show what people check after an assistant answers. Our own study shows which websites the assistants cited when they answered. We measured it in July 2026: we asked ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity ten buyer questions in each of four service industries and recorded every website each answer cited. The questions were the kind a customer asks, such as the best corporate law firm in Delhi or a hair transplant clinic in London.
| Industry | On the list, share of different websites cited | Cited most from the list |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing agencies | 31% | clutch.co (20), agencies.semrush.com (8), designrush.com (8) |
| Law firms | 22% | chambers.com (10), lawzana.com (9), legal500.com (8) |
| Aesthetic clinics | 13% | practo.com (8), justdial.com (8), realself.com (6) |
| Interior design | 12% | re-thinkingthefuture.com (5), archidust.com (4), archello.com (4) |
Directories are, in this study, the sites on a fixed list: business directories, review sites, social platforms and a few publishers, from Clutch, Chambers and Practo to Reddit, YouTube and Forbes. The share is the average, across ten questions, of how many of the different websites cited for a question were on that list. The number in brackets is how many of the 40 answers in that industry cited the site. Ten questions per industry shows a direction, not a full count.
Directories were a minority of the different websites cited, and most of the ones cited often. On average they were 12% to 31% of the websites cited for a question, but in three of the four industries, every site cited in five or more of the 40 answers was on the list. Which ones varied by trade: Clutch for agencies, legal rankings such as Chambers and Legal 500 for law firms, booking and review sites for clinics. The rest of what was cited was other websites, among them the businesses' own sites, publishers and list articles. So check which listings the assistants cite for your customers' questions before you pay for any.
What to fix first
- This week: ask the assistants what your customers ask, and read what they say about you. Include your town, the way a customer would: for example, the best family dentist in Leeds for a nervous patient. Check every detail they give: hours, prices, services, the area you cover. Note which websites each answer cites. Two in three AI users have been given wrong details about a local business (SOCi).
- This week: search for yourself on Google. 62% of AI users searched Google right after an AI recommendation (Yext), so see what they find when they search your name. Your Google Business Profile is the free listing Google shows beside those results, with your hours, phone number, reviews and map pin. Make sure it has the right hours, services and booking link, and that it matches your website.
- This month: put the facts on your website as text. Services, prices or price ranges, areas served, hours, credentials and how to book, on the page rather than in an image or a PDF. 58% of AI users go to the business's website to check (Yext). Put the same facts on your social pages, the second most common first check in SOCi's survey (20%).
- This month: keep reviews coming and reply to them. Ask every customer. Three in four people look for reviews from the last three months, and nearly a third will not use a business under 4.5 stars (BrightLocal).
- This month: fix the listings the assistants cite for you. Take the websites you noted in step 1, not a generic list, and make your entry on each match your website and your Google profile.
- Every week after: check again. Answers move. In our own measurement of answers about AI visibility tools (1 to 25 September 2026), asked the same question at the next run, one to fifteen days later, the engines named only 54% of the same tools again. The weekly routine sets out how, free or with a tracker.
Do not:
- Treat one AI answer as your ranking. Ask again next week and the list will probably differ.
- Pay for a directory listing because a generic list says so. Pay only for listings the assistants cited in your own checks.
- Keep your hours, prices or services only in an image, a PDF or a social post. The people checking your website need them as text.
What these surveys cannot tell you
Most of the figures here come from companies that sell to local businesses: SOCi, BrightLocal, Yext and rater8. Each surveyed roughly a thousand US adults and describes its method only briefly, and none is independent of the market it measures. JUSTICE, a charity, and the Pew Research Center are the exceptions, and JUSTICE's study is about the UK. All of these surveys record what people say they did, and the panels differ in how closely they match the population. Our own study is ten questions per industry, collected on one day in July 2026. Three or four of each industry's questions named Indian cities, and we asked the assistants' developer versions, which can answer differently from the apps. Read its shares as a direction, not a measurement of your town.
Where Greater Than Services fits
Our own product, so read this as the vendor's description, not part of the measurement above.
Greater Than Services is a workspace per brand that puts your buyer questions to five AI engines every week, records which answers named you and what they cited instead, shows your Google rank beside each answer, and drafts the fixes.
- If you need to know whether assistants name your business for your customers' questions, it asks those questions every week and records which answers named you and which businesses came up instead.
- If you need to read what the assistants say about you, it keeps the full text of every answer, so you can see the hours, prices and services each engine gave and spot the wrong ones.
- If you need to see which directories and pages get cited in your category, it lists the sources each answer cited.
- If you need Google as well, your Google rank for the same searches sits beside each answer, and Google AI Overviews is read off the live results page for your country.
It does not manage your Google Business Profile, your directory listings or your reviews. Those stay with you or the listings tool you already use.
Plans start at $49 a month, billed yearly, for one brand on ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews; Growth and Agency cover all five engines. The three-day trial is on one brand and needs a card.
Common questions
How many people use AI to find a local business?
It depends on the measure. SOCi found 52% of US consumers had used an AI tool to find a local business in the last 30 days, up from 9% in 2025. Yext found 47% in the past month, and BrightLocal 45% in the past year. In BrightLocal's study of people's most recent local search, 8% started with AI and 23% used it at some point, while 52% started on Google Search. All three companies sell software to local businesses.
What do people check after an AI recommends a business?
Reviews, Google, the business's own website and its social pages. In SOCi's survey the most common first check was reviews (33%), then the business's social media (20%). In Yext's, 62% of AI users searched Google right after the recommendation, 58% went to the business's website and 52% clicked through to the sources the AI cited. Both companies sell software to local businesses.
Does AI give wrong information about local businesses?
Most people who use it say it has happened to them. 67% of AI users told SOCi they had been given wrong information about a local business at least once, and 30% said it caused a real inconvenience. In healthcare, rater8 found 66% of people who use AI tools had seen incorrect information about a provider. Both companies sell to local businesses.
Do AI assistants mostly cite directories?
Not by count, but often by frequency. In July 2026 we asked ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity ten questions in each of four service industries. On average, directories, review sites and social platforms were 12% to 31% of the different websites cited for a question. Yet in three of the four industries, every site cited in five or more of the 40 answers was on the list. Which ones varied by trade. We did not test whether a listing gets a business named.
Sources
Every external figure was fact-checked against its publisher's page on 18 October 2026, and each is given with its sample and date in the text above.
- SOCi, 2026 Local Discovery Index, 24 September 2026
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, 11 February 2026
- BrightLocal, Consumer Search Behavior 2026: channels, 9 July 2026, and decisions, 15 July 2026
- Yext, 2026 consumer search behaviors findings, survey of March 2026
- rater8, 2026 Patient Choice Report, 3 June 2026
- Pew Research Center, why Americans use AI chatbots for health, 25 August 2026
- JUSTICE, AI and legal problems, 1 September 2026
The directory shares are our own, from the July 2026 study behind the four industry pages linked in the table. Those pages set out the questions, the cities and the method, and publish the data under CC BY. The repeat rate comes from our measurement of 391 answers about AI visibility tools, 1 to 25 September 2026. If a figure here does not match its source, tell us and we will correct it.