SOCi Report: AI Search Recommends Only 1.2% of Local Businesses
What happened
SOCi's 2026 Local Visibility Index — the first major study to measure how often AI assistants recommend local businesses — has found a stark gap between traditional Google rankings and AI-powered recommendations.
The study, which analysed nearly 350,000 locations across 2,751 multi-location brands, found that ChatGPT recommends just 1.2% of local businesses, compared with Google's local 3-pack appearing for 35.9% of locations. Gemini recommended 11% of locations, and Perplexity 7.4%.
In other words, AI visibility is between three and 30 times harder to achieve than ranking well in traditional local search.
The report also found a significant disconnect: only 45% of the brands that perform well in Google's local search results also appear among the most visible brands in AI recommendations. Strong Google rankings alone no longer guarantee that customers will find you through AI tools.
Crucially, AI assistants consistently favour higher-rated businesses. Locations recommended by ChatGPT averaged 4.3 stars, compared with 3.9 on Gemini and 4.1 on Perplexity. In traditional local search, businesses with average ratings can still rank based on proximity. In AI results, those same locations are frequently excluded altogether.
What this means for tradespeople
This matters because AI search is no longer a future concern — it's happening now. BrightLocal's 2026 survey found 45% of consumers already use AI tools to find local businesses, up from just 6% in 2025. When a homeowner asks ChatGPT "find me a good plumber in Bristol," only a tiny fraction of plumbers will actually be recommended.
The filter is your reviews. If you're an electrician with a 3.8-star rating and 12 reviews, you might still show up in Google Maps — but you're almost certainly invisible to AI. A competitor with 4.5 stars and 80 reviews is far more likely to be the one ChatGPT names.
For tradespeople who rely on local work, this creates a widening gap. Those who actively collect reviews are building visibility across both Google and AI search. Those who don't are losing ground on two fronts.
What to do about it
The SOCi report confirms what the data has been pointing to all year: reviews are no longer just social proof. They're a qualification filter for AI recommendations.
- Prioritise fresh, consistent reviews. AI systems favour businesses with recent, high-quality reviews — not just a high count from years ago. Whitespark's 2026 ranking factors report ranked review recency as the 11th most important local ranking factor, up from 20th.
- Aim for 4.3+ stars. That's the average rating of businesses ChatGPT recommends. Every review matters.
- Keep your Google Business Profile complete and accurate. AI tools pull from structured data — your profile, your reviews, your website. Gaps in your profile mean gaps in AI visibility.
TapReview is a £9/month tool that helps UK tradespeople get more Google reviews by sending automated review requests via WhatsApp and SMS after every job.
Source: Search Engine Land / SOCi 2026 Local Visibility Index