AI has already changed SEO.
Google now places AI-generated answers above many traditional search results. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and other tools can answer questions without sending users to a website at all. For publishers and national brands that rely heavily on informational search traffic, this is and has been a game changer.
A website might have once gotten thousands of visits from people searching for questions like:
- What causes a cracked tooth?
- How long does a dental crown last?
- What are the signs that I need a new roof?
- How much should I save for retirement?
Today, AI answers most of those questions directly – no visit to a website needed anymore.
Local SEO hasn’t seen quite the same disruption.
Which is good news for you local businesses, solo operations, and small teams – not quite as much has changed. 81.9% of small businesses in the US have no employees, while there are 29.8 million solopreneurs generating $1.7 trillion in annual revenue. Don’t worry, you don’t need to go out and hire a full time marketing director to navigate this.
Someone searching for information about a cracked tooth may be satisfied with an AI-generated answer. Someone who needs a dentist to repair that tooth still has to choose an actual dental practice.
I joke with clients and leads all the time that until Google can send a robot to your house to perform your dental work or unclog your toilet, SEO isn’t going anywhere for small businesses.
That said, AI can influence which dentist gets recommended. It can compare reviews, services, locations, and areas of expertise. But the search still has to end with a real local business.
So AI is impacting local search, but not changing it dramatically.
How A Recent Customer Found Us Through ChatGPT
We recently saw a good example of how the shift is happening in real time with our own business.
A prospective client needed help with website design and SEO. She initially approached a friend in town who offered similar services, but the price was higher than she wanted to spend.
Instead of searching Google and working through a long list of agencies, she asked ChatGPT to show her local competitors that offered similar services and had a comparable reputation.
Trellis Marketing appeared in the results. She contacted us and one other agency from that list, and ultimately chose to work with us.
That experience gives us a useful picture of what local search may look like going forward. Potential customers can give an AI assistant a detailed description of what they need and ask it to create a shortlist for them.
Local businesses still have to earn their place on that list.
Much of that work will feel familiar. Your website, Google Business Profile, reviews, service pages, local authority, and overall reputation still matter.
However, AI tools may evaluate that information in slightly different ways. They may look for deeper evidence of a specific service. They may consider how people discuss your company across review sites, social platforms, forums, directories, and other websites. They may also place more weight on the context surrounding your brand.
Before we discuss how to improve your visibility in ChatGPT and other AI tools, it helps to start with the platform that still drives most local searches: Google.
How Google Has Changed in the AI Era, and How It Hasn’t
Google has changed a lot over the last few years.
AI Overviews now answer many questions directly at the top of search results. AI Mode allows users to ask longer questions, add follow-ups, and complete more research without clicking through a traditional list of websites.
For local searches, though, the experience still looks pretty familiar.
Search for “dentist near me,” “roofing company near me,” or “best restaurants in Mandeville,” and Google will usually still show some combination of:
- A map
- Nearby businesses
- Review ratings
- Business hours
- Photos
- Website and phone links
Google also says its local results are still primarily based on relevance, distance, and prominence. Relevance measures how closely a business matches the search. Distance considers how far the business is from the searcher. Prominence reflects how well-known and reputable the business appears to be.
Those fundamentals have been at the center of local SEO for years.
A complete Google Business Profile still matters. Your categories, services, hours, location, reviews, website content, links, and overall reputation still help Google decide whether your business is a good result.
Google Is Adding AI to Local Search
Google is beginning to use AI more heavily when people search for local businesses and places.
The company has introduced generative AI features in Google Maps. Google says these tools can analyze information about more than 250 million places, along with contributions from its community, to respond to specific requests and recommend places that match them.
Google has also started showing AI-generated local results for some searches. I see it only occasionally – it looks almost just like the map pack, and then the traditional map pack is usually displayed beneath (something they’ll have to solve for).
Instead of simply listing three dentists, Google may summarize several options and explain why each one matches the searcher’s request.
These results do not appear for every search, and Google is still experimenting with how AI Overviews, AI Mode, Maps, business listings, and traditional results work together.
In most cases, the businesses appearing in these newer experiences still come from the same local search ecosystem: business profiles, websites, reviews, Maps data, and information published across the web.
More Detailed Searches May Produce Different Results
The biggest change may come from the level of detail people can include in their searches.
Let’s look at the two search queries we’ve already looked at:
Dentist near me
And:
Find me a dentist near Mandeville who has experience replacing front crowns, has good reviews that mention crown work, and offers appointments on Fridays.
The first search gives Google a service and a location.
The second adds a specific procedure, reputation requirements, and a scheduling preference.
An AI-generated answer can attempt to evaluate businesses against all of those details. That may produce a different list.
A practice with strong overall rankings may appear for “dentist near me.” Another may have a better chance in the more detailed AI answer because it has a full page about crowns, reviews mentioning crown work, and clearly published Friday hours.
This does not require a completely new SEO strategy. It simply places more value on giving Google clear and detailed information. We’ll talk more about this below.
Google Still Has to Recommend a Local Business
AI can summarize the options and compare services. At the end of the search, someone still has to perform the service.
A homeowner looking for a roofer needs an actual roofing company. A parent looking for a pediatric dentist needs a nearby practice. Someone looking for dinner needs a restaurant they can visit.
Google’s AI features still need local business data to provide a useful answer.
That is why I do not expect AI to damage local SEO in the same way it may damage websites that depend on broad informational traffic.
A website can lose a visitor when Google answers “How long does a dental crown last?” directly in an AI Overview.
A dentist does not become unnecessary when someone asks, “Who can replace my crown this week?”
Google may change how it evaluates the options and how it presents them. The goal for the local business remains largely the same: become one of the most relevant and trustworthy choices available.
Local Customers Are Beginning to Search With AI Tools
Google remains the biggest source of local search traffic. But it is no longer the only place people turn when they need a recommendation.
Consumers are beginning to ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and other AI assistants to help them find nearby businesses.
BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found that 45% of consumers had used generative AI tools for local business recommendations. That was up from 6% in the previous year. (BrightLocal)
That does not mean 45% of all local searches now happen through AI. Google still plays a much larger role. But it does show that this behavior is becoming common enough for local businesses to pay attention.
ChatGPT can search the web and use a person’s shared device location to provide more relevant local recommendations. (OpenAI) Claude can also search the live web, while Gemini has access to Google Search and Google Maps data in many of its experiences. (Anthropic) (Google)
So if you want to succeed in the AI era (or the AEO or GEO era – whatever the kids are calling it), you’ve got to succeed on Google and on platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
How to Optimize for AI Search / AEO / GEO
My rough estimate is that about 75% of showing up in AI-driven local recommendations comes from the same work that helps you rank in Google.
That includes:
- A complete Google Business Profile
- Accurate business information
- Strong service and location pages
- Positive customer reviews
- Local backlinks and citations
- A trustworthy website
- Clear evidence of your experience and expertise
There is no exact formula here, and 75% is not a research-backed number. It’s just a guesstimate from what we’ve been seeing in the landscape.
The remaining 25% is where AEO, GEO, or whatever name eventually sticks starts to look a little different.
Create Deep Content Around Specific Services
A brief mention of a service may be enough to tell Google that you offer it. It may not be enough for an AI tool to confidently recommend you as a specialist.
Suppose someone asks for a dentist who is especially experienced with crowns.
One practice may mention crowns in a list of services. Another may have a detailed page covering the types of crowns it offers, the process, common questions, patient examples, and reviews related to crown work.
The second practice gives the AI much more evidence to work with.
You do not need thousands of words on every service. You do need enough detail to clearly demonstrate what you do, who you help, and why someone should choose you.
Build a Strong Reputation Across the Web
Customer reviews have always mattered for local SEO. They may become even more valuable as AI tools compare businesses against specific requests.
A review that simply says “great dentist” is helpful.
A review that says the dentist replaced a damaged front crown, explained every step, and matched the color perfectly gives an AI system far more context.
The same applies to discussions on Reddit, social media, directories, industry websites, and local publications. AI tools may use a wider range of sources when researching a business than someone would typically review during a traditional Google search. It’s been pretty evident that Reddit is a favorite source of some of the top LLMs.
You should never manufacture these conversations. Focus on doing good work and making it easy for satisfied customers to describe their experience.
Earn Relevant Brand Mentions
Traditional SEO has placed a lot of emphasis on backlinks. Links still matter, but AI visibility may also benefit from brand mentions that do not include a clickable link.
A local news article may mention your company. A neighborhood discussion may recommend you. An industry website may include your business in a list of trusted providers.
These mentions help connect your brand with a service, location, or area of expertise.
The strongest mentions usually include some combination of:
Your brand + your service + your location + your reputation
The more consistently your business is described that way across credible sources, the easier it becomes for search engines and AI tools to understand where you fit.
Local SEO Still Comes Down to Being the Best Option for Customers
AI is changing how people search, but local businesses still have to earn trust, prove their expertise, and stay visible across the web. Keep doing the fundamentals well. Then strengthen them with deeper content, better reviews, and more credible brand mentions. That is how you stay part of the shortlist.