2025 Local SEO Trends and 2026 Predictions

One obvious answer from my perspective is that people are doing more local searches via AI Mode and ChatGPT. I know I have - though when I REALLY want to get answers about something somewhere near me, I'm still going back to Google Maps, searching a region, moving the map around, reading reviews, etc - same as I have for the last decade+.

What's changed for me, and for some people I know, is that I'm ALSO checking AI Mode, Gemini, ChatGPT and so on. I'm often starting there: “what are the top companies that can install a quality fireplace insert in the Portland area. Please check user reviews” type thing, then going over and confirming that via Google Maps. I often spend more time on Google than in the LLM session, and I bounce back and forth.

As soon as I get better results consistently from chat I will stop doing the “confirm on Google Maps” step. But IME it is not there yet, and I'm a heavy user.

I also have watched my wife and teen kids do something similar, just a little slower adoption, so I do think it's something a portion of the general population is doing.

Oh also: because of LLMs I'm seeing alt review sites becoming WAY more important. I'm talking Clutch, DesignRush, goodfirms, semrush directory, upcity (defunct but still cited), Psychology Today profiles, even yelp and birdeye. Massive # of citations and thus impact.

What are other people seeing?

I've seen a lot of improvements in local search for AI over the year. Beginning of 2025, I thought it was pretty rough - Bing Maps was the source for a lot of service-area businesses, and the accuracy just isn't there, relative to Google. GBP seems like a growing citation source for LLMs, so tracking visibility and traffic are going to stay highly relevant.

We've seen a trend of loss traffic for informational queries due to AI overview. But not only that, even high-intent keywords are starting to show AI overviews while recommending limited number of competitors.

My guess in 2026 - ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overview, and AI Mode will improve in answering local queries and show a local pack-esque answer.

For me, 2025 reinforced that local SEO is less about individual ranking factors and more about brand and entity understanding.

I also think third-party directories, mentions, and influencers increased in importance. Not as traditional “citations,” but as supporting data points that help Google validate a business across the web.

Everything connected to the Google Business Profile ecosystem matters attributes, photos, menus, posts, external references because all of it contributes to engagement, dwell time, and Google’s understanding of the entity as a whole. Which then can fall into ai UI mentions inside maps and the serp.

My guess for 2026 is agentic workflows for bookings and maps will be more prominent inside of ai mode.

I think the traditional local SEO ranking factors will remain the same: reviews, proximity, relevance, keywords in description/products/services/landing page etc

One thing I noticed is the widespread use of exact match domains. They are still very much visible and are ranking highly (noticed this across the law niche in multiple cities). Businesses create these EMD micro-sites to increase their chances of appearing for local queries.

Like @user said, agentic capabilities will be pushed by Google. We already have agentic booking in ChatGPT via MCPs. Google has introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol. I'm unsure it'll get widespread popularity this year, but agentic browsing and bookings are the future

This will lead to a further drop in website traffic - but this will be compensated by ai bot sessions and companies tracking end revenue will remain stable