Google AI Search + 5 Local Marketing Fixes

AI search local Marketing strategies highlighted outside a local business

Local businesses can improve their chances of being recommended in AI search by keeping accurate, location-specific information across their website, Google Business Profile, reviews, and other relevant surfaces. A September 24 webinar showed why multi-location teams need stronger data controls, useful local content, and human oversight rather than relying on one brand-level profile.

The webinar, "Google On What’s Next In AI Search + 5 Local Marketing Strategy Fixes," was hosted by Katie Morton, Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal. It featured Caroline Dissaux, Business Development Lead for Search Gemini at Google, Bonnie White, Strategic Partnerships Manager at Adecco supporting Google on Google Business Profile partnerships, and Krystal Taing, VP of Solutions at Uberall. Search Engine Journal’s event announcement said a recording would be sent to registrants.

What Changed, and What Did Not

What the Webinar Verified

Google representatives described longer, conversational searches and AI features that break complex requests into related questions.
The speakers recommended complete and consistent location data across websites, Google Business Profiles, and other relevant surfaces.
Google Business Profile posts, structured services or menus, fresh images, social links, review responses, and current contact options can add useful context.
Post views and clicks help teams assess individual posts, but they do not show that a post caused visibility in AI Overviews or AI Mode.

What Remains a Business Recommendation

These are practical ways teams can put the webinar’s advice into practice.

Local discovery now spans more than a map ranking. SOCi’s 2026 Local Discovery Index surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers. It found that 52% had used an AI tool to find a local business in the previous 30 days, up from 9% in 2025. The same research reported that 99% read reviews, 72% favored businesses that respond to reviews, and 63% had walked away from a business that could not answer a needed question. These figures connect location data and review handling to the trust checks that follow an AI recommendation.

Why Specific Queries Need Better Location Data

An AI search can turn a broad local request into a specific need: a particular service, an available appointment, suitable amenities, and a workable location. A listing with only a name and opening hours may not answer that request.

Krystal Taing said businesses should make categories, attributes, services, menus, inventory, and availability complete and consistent across their website, Google Business Profile, and other relevant surfaces. Consistency does not require identical copy for every branch. It means customers and search systems should not encounter conflicting facts.

A chain’s strong brand-level presence does not prove that every location offers the same service or has the same inventory. A location-by-location audit can show teams which details a customer request may require.

The need for trustworthy local data is reinforced by SOCi’s survey. Among consumers who used AI for local discovery, 67% said they had received wrong information about a local business at least once, while 30% said bad information caused a real inconvenience. The survey links this problem to verification behavior rather than proving that any particular data field causes an AI recommendation.

What to Add to a Google Business Profile

Publish Relevant Updates, Offers, and Events

Google Posts can carry timely information such as event dates and offer details. A business should use a publishing cadence that fits its operations, rather than copying a general social-media schedule.

Connect Social Accounts and Refresh Images

A business can link its existing social profiles to its Google Business Profile and update photos or videos when products, spaces, or seasonal information changes. A brand-wide account remains useful when a location-specific account does not exist.

Supply Structured Menus or Detailed Services

Food businesses can list menu items, ingredients, and current prices rather than relying only on a customer-uploaded menu image. Service businesses can describe their offerings and relevant details in service lists without creating a food-style menu.

Respond to Reviews and Keep Contact Options Current

Review responses can reveal which experiences or offerings need clarification. Where appropriate, businesses can make their messaging channel easy to find.

SOCi’s research supports treating responses as part of the decision process. It found that 72% of surveyed consumers favored businesses that respond to reviews, compared with 63% who had walked away from a business that could not answer a necessary question.

How Should Teams Measure AI Visibility?

Google Business Profile post views and clicks can help teams assess individual posts, but those metrics do not establish that a post caused visibility in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Google representatives said there is no clear-cut metric directly tying posts to AI visibility.

Krystal Taing recommended comparing post topics with the queries and AI answers that a business encounters. For brands publishing across many locations, the same promotion can be reused, but accurate local details make it more useful to someone choosing a location. Prices should be added only when the business can keep them accurate. A service with variable pricing may be clearer without an unreliable figure.

SEOScanPro’s AI visibility tracking provides visibility data across AI search surfaces.

What to Do Now

A location-by-location audit should cover each branch without waiting for a central team to add every possible field. The following checklist assigns an owner and verification cycle to each area.

Verify identity details. Compare the business name, address, service area, and contact information on the website and Google Business Profile. Ask the location manager to confirm the facts, recheck them after a move or major change, and correct conflicts before updates are distributed.
Check categories and attributes. Compare the primary and secondary categories, amenities, accessibility details, and other attributes against the actual offer at that branch. The location manager should verify them, the central team should resolve overlap between the profile and site, and both should recheck the list when services change.
Review services, amenities, and current prices. Compare service lists and relevant detail with what customers can actually request or reserve. The location owner should confirm availability, omit variable prices that cannot be maintained, and escalate unclear offers to the central team.
Audit menus, inventory, and hours. Compare restaurant items and ingredients, service availability, stock-dependent offerings, and opening hours with the branch’s records and the customer-facing website. The location manager should verify the information, update it when availability changes, and resolve conflicting prices or hours before publishing.
Test booking paths and contact options. Compare booking links, appointment availability, phone details, and messaging paths with the services offered at that location. The person responsible for reservations should check the path, the location manager should confirm the details, and the central team should recheck it after workflow or contact changes.
Refresh images and publish timely updates. Compare photos and videos with current products, spaces, offers, and events. Ask the location manager to supply accurate visuals, verify them before posting, and update them when the branch or seasonal offer changes.
Handle reviews with clear ownership. Assign a location owner to recurring feedback, set response standards, and compare review comments with the profile’s services, amenities, and contact information. The owner should check for missing information, respond where appropriate, and escalate unusual complaints or policy issues for human review.
Track location-level visibility. Keep a consistent set of customer questions and AI answers for each location and relevant competitors, then compare those observations with Google Business Profile engagement and actual business outcomes. The central team can track the set, while the location owner validates that local details remain correct.

Five Fixes to Put Into Practice

Establish one source of truth for each location. Audit hours, categories, attributes, services, menus, inventory, and booking details. Fix conflicts before syndicating updates.
Close the review gap. Set ownership and response standards, then use recurring customer feedback to identify missing information and location-specific problems.
Localize content at scale. Reuse approved offers where appropriate, but add accurate neighborhood, service, image, or location details instead of distributing generic copy alone.
Automate routine checks with human judgment. Let systems flag missing fields and routine updates. Keep people responsible for policy, brand-sensitive claims, unusual complaints, standards, and exceptions.
Measure at the location level. Track a consistent set of customer questions and AI answers for individual locations and competitors. Compare those observations with profile engagement and actual business outcomes over time.

Automation can help a central team handle location data. People still need to set the standards and decide which exceptions need human judgment.

FAQ

What Information Should a Local Business Maintain for AI Search?

Businesses should keep categories, attributes, services, menus, inventory, availability, and booking details complete and consistent across their website, Google Business Profile, and other relevant surfaces.

Do Google Business Profile Post Views and Clicks Prove Visibility in AI Answers?

No. Post views and clicks can help assess individual posts, but they do not establish that a post caused visibility in AI Overviews or AI Mode. Teams can instead compare post topics with the queries and AI answers their businesses encounter.

How Can Multi-Location Businesses Scale Local Content Checks?

Central teams can automate routine checks and flag missing fields, while people establish strategy, standards, and guardrails and review policy issues, brand-sensitive claims, unusual complaints, and exceptions.

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This article reports on publicly available information from the sources listed below. We have no reason to believe it is inaccurate, but we have not independently verified every claim, and details may change as the story develops.

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Google on What’s Next in AI Search + 5 Local Marketing Strategy Fixes