Local GEO is largely just good local SEO: a strong business profile, reviews, a clear website and mentions elsewhere. AI Overviews appears for a minority of purely local searches, so there is no need to panic, but no reason to sit still either.
Local GEO is the new name for an old question: are you found when someone nearby is looking for something? Only now that someone sometimes asks an AI tool instead of Google. The good news: what worked locally still largely works.
We keep it level-headed. Below you can read how often AI really shows up for local searches, what experts think counts and what you can do tomorrow.
How often AI appears for local searches
AI Overviews appears for a minority of purely local searches. According to the figures on localrankingsfactoren.nl that was 15% in May 2025 and 21.8% in August 2026. That is not the 68% you sometimes see quoted.
In fairness: localrankingsfactoren.nl is our founder's archive site, which cites the original sources. The trend is clear. AI is growing for local searches, but the local pack with business profiles is still the main stage.
Fishkin sees that too. In June 2026 he wrote that SEO remains valuable for branded searches, local businesses and searches with high purchase intent. He also advises not to neglect your website, because content still influences AI answers.
What counts for local AI visibility, and why local is different
The best-known source is the Whitespark study of local ranking factors from November 2025, with 47 participants and 187 factors. The weight per factor group for AI visibility is shown on localrankingsfactoren.nl (Whitespark, November 2025):
- On-page signals on your own site: 24%.
- Reviews: 16%.
- Citations (mentions of name, address and phone number): 13%.
- Links: 13%.
- Google Business Profile: 12%.
- Personalisation and social: 9% each.
- Behaviour: 4%.
For comparison: for the local pack the Business Profile weighs 32% and reviews 20% (Whitespark, November 2025). For AI, then, the weight shifts towards your own site and towards mentions elsewhere.
Important: these are expert estimates, not measurements. Treat the percentages as a direction, not a formula. Nobody can tell you that one extra review delivers exactly so much AI visibility.
Locally the set of choices is small, and that helps you. In January 2026 Fishkin saw that the answers overlap more when there is little choice, as with Volvo dealers in Los Angeles. With thousands of science fiction books the names vary much more.
Who AI mentions also differs per region. The GEO benchmark by Gold Lemon from September 2026 found that per region different, often smaller agencies rise to the top than nationally. Note: Gold Lemon is itself a GEO provider and appears as the measuring party in its own list.
For you this means: you are not competing with the whole country, but with the businesses in your own service area. There you can make the difference with simply good work. Seen this way, GEO is largely just SEO, with the emphasis on mentions.
What AI reads about your business outside your own site
AI tools form their picture of your business from everything that can be found about you. Amanda Natividad of SparkToro summed it up like this in February 2026:
AI visibility is an audience research problem before it's a measurement problem.
So you first need to know how your customers talk about their problem; only then does measuring make sense. Her advice is to ensure consistent content in several places. Think of blogs, video transcripts, forum mentions and clear information for customer service.
Fishkin says something similar in June 2026: also invest in platforms you do not own. For a local business owner that is very concrete. Think of the local newspaper, the local business association, a trade forum or a YouTube video in which a customer tells their story.
Keep that information up to date as well. In the consistency study from January 2026 AI even named estate agencies that no longer existed. Outdated information about you keeps circulating until you correct it everywhere.
What local GEO is not
A lot is promised around local GEO. Be wary of these promises:
- A fixed spot or position in ChatGPT or Google AI. It does not exist; the answers keep changing.
- A special trick that makes your business profile, reviews and website unnecessary.
- Quick visibility through self-written lists or fake reviews. That undermines your reputation.
- An expensive measurement tool as the first step, before your basics are in order. First read whether you really need a paid tool for AI measurements.
How to measure local AI visibility without fooling yourself
Asking once tells you nothing. In May 2026 Fishkin literally advises asking at least ten times before you trust a list.
Please, dear god, ask ten times before you trust the list.
His plea is clear: ask ten times before you believe the list. Then do not look at your place in the list, but at how often you are mentioned. With our free tally sheet for AI mentions you can track that per prompt.
Use questions the way your customers ask them. Amanda Natividad of SparkToro showed in February 2026 that people phrase the same intention very differently. So ask your customers how they would search.
What you can do now
- Complete your Google Business Profile: the right category, opening hours, photos, services and service area. It remains the foundation of the local pack.
- Ask every satisfied customer for a review and respond to every review. Reviews count for the local pack and for AI.
- On your own site, create a clear page per service and per place with your name, address and phone number, identical everywhere.
- Make sure you are mentioned elsewhere: local media, trade association, sponsorship, an interview. AI leans on what others write about you.
- Test a handful of customer questions at least ten times in ChatGPT, Google AI and Gemini and note how often you are mentioned.
Prefer some help? First ask a candidate the ten questions you should ask every agency. Or look at our ranking of (local) GEO specialists once the first edition is published.
Frequently asked questions
What is local GEO?
Local GEO means making sure your local business is mentioned when someone asks an AI tool for a recommendation nearby. In practice it overlaps strongly with local SEO. Business profile, reviews, your site and mentions elsewhere remain the foundation. See also: Measuring AI mentions: branded searches and direct traffic as evidence.
Does AI Overviews appear for most local searches?
No. For purely local searches it is still a minority, although the share is growing. The local pack with business profiles remains the most important stage for now. See also: Follow-up client calls.
Do I need a separate GEO agency as a local business owner?
Usually not. A good local SEO specialist already works on the things that also count for AI. Do check whether that specialist carries out the work or only advises. See also: Getting mentioned in ChatGPT: the evidence lies outside your website.
What matters more for AI: my Business Profile or my website?
According to expert estimates, your own site weighs more heavily for AI visibility than for the local pack. The Business Profile remains important. Neglect neither. See also: GEO agency: why most of them cannot really help you.
Are the percentages from the Whitespark study hard facts?
No. They are expert estimates, not measurements. Use them as a direction for deciding where to spend your time, not as a formula. See also: What is GEO? Mostly just SEO with a new label.
Do reviews count for AI tools too?
Experts estimate that they do. Reviews are also visible public evidence that people and models both read. Request them systematically and respond to them.
Why does AI name different businesses in my region than nationally?
AI looks for sources that fit the place, and per region those are different businesses. In research on agencies, smaller players also often rose to the top per region. Locally you can therefore beat big names.
How often should I ask a question to measure my local AI visibility?
At least ten times per question, and preferably more. Count how often you are mentioned and convert that into a percentage. A place in the list says little, because the order keeps changing.
Which questions should I test?
The questions your customers really ask, in their own words. Ask a few customers how they would search for your service. People phrase the same question very differently.
Can I buy local AI visibility?
Anyone who promises you a fixed spot in an AI answer is promising something that does not exist. AI answers keep changing. On this site a guaranteed position in AI costs an agency penalty points.
Sources
- Lokale rankingfactoren: AI Overviews bij lokale zoekopdrachten (localrankingsfactoren.nl) (May 2025 en August 2026)
- Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors 2026, weergegeven op localrankingsfactoren.nl (November 2025)
- In 2026, Less than One Third of Google Searches Still Send a Click (Rand Fishkin, SparkToro) (June 2026)
- NEW Research: AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands or products (Rand Fishkin, SparkToro) (January 2026)
- GEO-benchmark oktober 2026 (Gold Lemon) (September 2026)
- Office Hours: Can You Actually Track AI Visibility? (SparkToro) (May 2026)
- Why Everyone Prompts AI Differently (Amanda Natividad, SparkToro) (February 2026)