AI Overviews Show 32% Fewer Local Businesses Than Traditional Search Results
What happened
Google's AI Overviews — the AI-generated summaries that now appear at the top of search results — are showing significantly fewer local businesses than the traditional local pack. Research from Local Falcon and multiple industry sources shows that AI Overviews surface only about 32% as many businesses as traditional 3-pack results.
Where the old map pack showed three businesses for a local search, AI Overviews might mention one or two — meaning your chances of being seen have dropped by roughly two-thirds.
AI Overviews now appear in more than 13% of all Google searches, with the highest trigger rates on question-based, how-to, and comparison queries. Combined with Local Services Ads now showing on 31% of local searches, organic visibility for local businesses is shrinking from multiple directions.
There's one notable shift in how AI Overviews rank businesses: proximity matters far less. In traditional local search, being close to the searcher was a dominant ranking factor. In AI Overviews, it has virtually no impact once a business is included — meaning quality signals like reviews, profile completeness, and website content matter more than your postcode.
What this means for tradespeople
If you're a plumber in Manchester and someone searches "best plumber near me," the old Google showed three plumbers in a map pack. Now, an AI Overview might name just one — and if your profile is thin, it won't be you.
The good news is that proximity mattering less actually helps tradespeople who serve a wide area. If you're an electrician covering all of South London, your reviews and profile quality can now beat someone who happens to be two streets closer to the searcher.
The bad news is that the bar for being included is much higher. Google's AI prioritises profiles with rich media, updated services, FAQs, and recent reviews. Businesses that regularly post updates and collect fresh reviews are seen as active and trustworthy. A stale profile with 12 reviews from 2023 won't make the cut.
Zero-click searches — where the user gets their answer without clicking through to any business — are projected to exceed 70% by the end of 2026. Your Google Business Profile and reviews may be the only thing a potential customer ever sees.
What to do about it
- Keep your reviews fresh. AI Overviews favour businesses with recent activity. A steady stream of new reviews signals that you're active and trusted.
- Complete every section of your Google Business Profile. Services, business description, photos, posts, Q&A — leave nothing blank. The more structured data Google's AI has, the more likely it is to include you.
- Add photos regularly. Google's AI prioritises profiles with rich media. Upload job photos, team photos, and before-and-after shots.
- Post updates. Google now lets you schedule Business Profile posts natively — batch them on a Sunday and let them publish all month.
Source: Local Falcon