How AI Search and Google Maps Are Changing the Way Customers Find and Choose Local Businesses
For years, local businesses have focused on one major goal online: getting to the top of Google.
Businesses have invested thousands of dollars in websites, search engine optimization (SEO), Google Ads and Google Maps optimization. The objective was fairly simple. When someone searched for a product or service, you wanted your business to appear before your competitors.
That is still important.
But there is now another question every business owner should be asking:
When someone asks artificial intelligence to recommend a business like yours, does it recommend you?
Consumers are changing the way they search for businesses. Instead of simply typing “roofing company near me” or “best attorney in Houston” into Google, people can ask AI much more specific questions.
They might ask, “Who is the best roofing company near me with good reviews?” or “What is a good family law firm in The Woodlands?”
And this isn’t something that may happen years from now. It’s already happening.
According to BrightLocal’s 2026 Consumer Search Behavior research, 23% of consumers used AI during their most recent search for a local business. Even more interesting, 31% said they use AI tools for local business recommendations at least monthly.
The businesses that understand how AI and traditional local search are coming together may have a significant advantage.
What is AI Visibility?
AI Visibility refers to how easily artificial intelligence systems can discover, understand and potentially recommend your business when answering a user’s question.
Traditional SEO focuses heavily on ranking websites in search results.
AI Visibility goes a step further.
The goal isn’t simply to rank.
The goal is to make sure AI systems have enough reliable information about your business to understand who you are, what you do, where you operate and why your business may be relevant to a particular search.
This information can come from several places, including your website, Google Business Profile, online reviews, business directories, articles, social media profiles and other references to your company across the internet.
The growth of AI-powered search isn’t simply another change to Google’s algorithm. It represents a change in how people interact with search itself.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai explained:
“Search has become less about individual queries and feels more like an ongoing conversation.”
That conversation creates a new challenge for businesses. Instead of optimizing for only a handful of traditional keywords, businesses need to make it easier for search engines and AI systems to understand who they are, what they do and when they should be recommended.
Google’s own numbers demonstrate how quickly AI-powered search is growing.
At Google I/O 2026, Pichai announced that Google’s AI Overviews had surpassed 2.5 billion monthly active users, while AI Mode had already exceeded 1 billion monthly active users.
Pichai described AI Mode as Google’s “biggest upgrade to Search ever.”
You can read more in Sundar Pichai’s Google I/O 2026 keynote.
That’s a pretty significant statement coming from the company that has dominated internet search for more than two decades.
Google Maps isn’t going away
With all the attention surrounding artificial intelligence, it would be easy to assume traditional local SEO is becoming less important.
That would be a mistake.
Google Maps remains one of the most valuable digital assets available to a local business.
According to BrightLocal’s 2026 research into how consumers choose local businesses, 72% of consumers consider three or fewer businesses before making a decision. Only 6% simply click the top result.
What are consumers looking at instead?
Location, reviews, business information, pricing and photos can all influence the decision.
Think about what those numbers mean for a local business.
Getting into the customer’s initial consideration set matters. But what they see after finding you may be just as important.
Your Google Business Profile is no longer simply an online business card.
It can be one of the deciding factors in whether someone calls you or your competitor.
Google explains that a Business Profile allows companies to manage how they appear across Google Search and Maps, including business hours, website information, photos and other important details.
Reviews matter more than ever
Reviews have traditionally influenced whether consumers trust a business.
They may now play an even larger role in the overall digital footprint surrounding that company.
BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found that 82% of consumers read AI-generated review summaries to help inform their decisions.
Even more interesting, 23% were willing to read the AI-generated information and make a decision without continuing through additional reviews.
Myles Anderson, Co-founder and CEO of BrightLocal, put the growing importance of reviews simply:
“Reviews are stable, sticky, and more important than ever.”
BrightLocal’s research reinforces something local businesses have known for years: reviews aren’t simply numbers sitting next to a star rating. They provide potential customers with evidence about the experiences other people have had with a business.
Now AI can help interpret that information.
That should get the attention of every local business owner.
AI isn’t simply helping people locate businesses.
It’s beginning to help consumers interpret the information they find about those businesses.
Google Maps and AI Visibility are becoming connected
Think about the information available about your company online.
Your website says one thing.
Your Google Business Profile says another.
Your customers leave reviews.
Directories list your business.
News websites, blogs and social media accounts may mention your company.
Together, these create a digital footprint.
If your website says you’re a roofing company in The Woodlands, your Google Business Profile identifies the same services and location, customers consistently discuss legitimate roofing experiences in their reviews and credible websites associate your company with roofing in the area, there are multiple sources reinforcing the same information.
The easier your business is to understand, the easier it may be for search engines and AI systems to determine when your company is relevant.
This is why consistency across your online presence is becoming increasingly important.
Google’s own guidance for succeeding in AI-powered Search recommends maintaining accurate Business Profile information and supporting website content with high-quality images and videos.
Your website still matters
Some business owners may wonder whether websites will eventually become irrelevant if AI simply answers questions directly.
For the foreseeable future, websites remain extremely important.
Google has specifically stated that traditional SEO best practices remain relevant to AI Overviews and AI Mode. According to Google Search Central’s guidance on AI features, there are no special requirements businesses need to implement simply to appear within Google’s AI features.
Your website should clearly explain what your company does, where you operate and why someone should choose you.
If you’re an attorney, don’t simply say you provide “legal solutions.”
Explain the specific areas of law you practice.
If you’re a roofing contractor, create useful information about roof replacement, storm damage, inspections, insurance claims and the geographic areas you serve.
The objective isn’t to stuff keywords into pages.
It’s to create useful content that clearly establishes what your business knows and does.
Google’s Search Central team offers straightforward advice:
“Focus on your visitors and provide them with unique, satisfying content.”
That’s an important point.
Businesses shouldn’t interpret the rise of AI as a reason to abandon the fundamentals of SEO and content marketing. Google says the same fundamental principles it has recommended to website owners continue to apply to its AI search experiences.
You can read Google’s complete recommendations in its guide to succeeding in AI Search.
Photos and complete profiles shouldn’t be overlooked
Businesses also shouldn’t underestimate visual content.
Photos can show potential customers your work, employees, equipment, location and completed projects.
They provide something a paragraph of marketing copy can’t always provide: visual proof.
The same applies to your business information.
An incomplete profile can create unnecessary uncertainty.
Your phone number, website, hours, services, categories and other important information should be accurate and consistent.
Google recommends that local businesses claim and maintain their Business Profile so important information such as location, contact details, business type and photos can appear within Google Search and Maps.
Build an online footprint AI can understand
Improving AI Visibility isn’t about discovering one secret trick.
It’s about creating a strong, consistent and credible digital footprint.
Businesses should focus on several fundamentals:
- Completely optimize their Google Business Profile.
- Maintain accurate business information across the internet.
- Build a steady stream of legitimate customer reviews.
- Respond professionally to customer reviews.
- Create useful website content around actual services and customer questions.
- Clearly identify geographic service areas.
- Earn legitimate mentions and links from credible websites.
- Add quality photos and videos that accurately represent the business.
- Monitor how the business appears in traditional Google searches.
- Test whether AI platforms understand and recommend the business for relevant searches.
This last step is becoming particularly important.
You can’t improve something you’re not measuring.
Businesses have monitored Google rankings for years. Now they should also begin monitoring how their companies appear when consumers ask AI platforms questions related to their products and services.
The future of local search is already here
Google Maps optimization and AI Visibility shouldn’t be viewed as two completely separate marketing strategies.
They are increasingly connected pieces of the same digital ecosystem.
Consumers still search Google.
They still use Google Maps.
They still read reviews.
They still visit websites.
But they’re also beginning to use AI to research, compare and evaluate businesses.
BrightLocal’s 2026 consumer search research found that while AI hasn’t replaced traditional local search, 23% of consumers used AI somewhere during their most recent local-business search.
That’s an important distinction.
AI doesn’t necessarily have to replace Google to change local search.
It simply has to become another step in the customer’s decision-making process.
After working with local businesses on Google Maps, SEO and AI Visibility, I’ve noticed that many business owners are still measuring their online presence almost entirely by where they rank on Google.
I believe that needs to change.
“Getting found on Google is no longer the finish line. Businesses need to make sure Google, AI platforms and potential customers can all understand who they are, what they do and why they should be trusted. If AI can’t understand your business, you can’t expect it to recommend you.”
— Brian Hughes, Zion Marketing Solutions
Google Maps isn’t becoming irrelevant.
SEO isn’t becoming irrelevant.
Websites aren’t becoming irrelevant.
Instead, all of these digital assets are becoming part of a much larger ecosystem that AI can use to discover, understand and evaluate businesses.
For local businesses, that creates both a challenge and an opportunity.
The competition is no longer simply about who ranks first.
Businesses now need to consider who Google displays, who customers trust and who artificial intelligence recommends.
The companies that begin strengthening their Google Maps presence, website authority, online reputation and overall AI Visibility today may find themselves in a much stronger position as AI becomes an even larger part of how consumers decide where to spend their money.
The question is no longer simply:
“Can customers find your business on Google?”
The better question may be:
“Can AI find enough credible information about your business to recommend it?”
Find Out How Visible Your Business Really Is
Not sure how your business is performing on Google Maps or whether AI platforms can find and recommend you?
Zion Marketing Solutions offers a FREE AI Visibility + Google Maps Mini Audit to show you how your business is currently performing, what’s working and where you may be losing visibility to competitors.
We’ll look at your Google Maps presence, online reputation and AI Visibility and identify opportunities to improve how your business is found and recommended online.
Request your FREE Mini Audit today.
Zion Marketing Solutions
Call or text 281-617-9935
zionmarketingsolutions.com
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