Since 2024, the way a local customer finds a business online has changed. AI-enhanced results, Google Business Profile listings, and responses generated by conversational AIs are reshuffling the deck. For a small or local business, improving digital visibility is no longer just about publishing a showcase website and waiting.
Local Visibility and Generative AI: What’s Changing in Search Results
Local SEO has until now relied on a well-known triptych: Google listing, customer reviews, geolocated keywords. This foundation remains valid, but a recent phenomenon complicates it. AI Overview blocks, these summaries generated by AI directly in the Google search results page, alter user behavior.
According to an Ahrefs study from April 2025, the appearance of an AI Overview block causes an average decrease of 34.5% in the click-through rate on the first organic position. For a well-positioned local business, this means that a user can get their answer without ever clicking on the website.
This observation has led to the emergence of the concept of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): the goal is no longer just to appear in traditional results but to be mentioned in responses generated by AI engines. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Le Chat Mistral are becoming entry points for queries like “good plumber in Reims” or “Italian restaurant open on Monday in Nantes.” Platforms like e-citynet.com contribute to this logic by structuring the online presence of local businesses across multiple channels.
According to Gartner’s projections, up to a quarter of searches could shift to generative engines by 2028. The available data does not yet allow for measuring the exact impact on local businesses, but the trend encourages diversifying presence points beyond just Google SEO.
Google Business Profile: Beyond Simple Registration
The Google Business Profile remains the most direct lever to appear in the local pack (the three results displayed on the map). Many businesses create it, but few truly exploit it.
Three elements make the difference between a passive listing and one that generates traffic:
- The completeness of information: up-to-date hours, filled secondary categories, specific industry attributes (accessibility, payment methods, services offered). Google favors listings where every field is filled.
- The frequency of posting: Google Posts (news, offers, events) signal recent activity. A regularly updated listing ranks better than a dormant one.
- Active management of reviews: responding to each review, positive or negative, with specific replies. The volume and freshness of customer reviews directly influence the local ranking algorithm.
The France Num 2024 guide also recommends testing visibility directly in conversational AIs by asking typical customer questions. If the business does not appear in the responses from ChatGPT or Perplexity, it means its information is not structured enough to be captured by these tools.
Structured Content for Local SEO and AI Ranking
Producing web content for a local business does not mean maintaining a generalist blog. The most effective strategy is to create structured answer pages around common customer questions. France Num recommends designing one page per typical question, with concrete elements reusable by AI engines.
A locksmith in Lyon benefits more from publishing a page “Price for opening a locked door in Lyon” than from an article on “the history of locksmithing.” The page should contain localized information, precise vocabulary related to the trade, and structured data (schema.org LocalBusiness markup).
Social SEO as a Complement
Social media posts are now indexed by search engines. A well-written Instagram post or Facebook publication, with local keywords in the text (not just in hashtags), can rank in Google results.
This phenomenon, called social SEO, transforms every social post into a potential entry point for a local customer. However, field feedback varies on the actual extent of this lever: it works better for certain sectors (restaurants, wellness, retail) than for others (B2B services, construction trades).
Measuring Local Visibility: The Limits of Current Tools
Most SMEs track their visibility via Google Search Console or the statistics of their Business Profile listing. These tools remain relevant for traditional SEO, but they do not cover visibility in AI responses.
No public tool currently allows for precise measurement of how often a business is mentioned by ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini. The available data does not allow for conclusions about the actual share of traffic these channels generate for local businesses.
What can be done in the meantime:
- Manually query conversational AIs with typical customer requests and note the presence or absence of the business
- Monitor changes in direct traffic and brand searches in Google Analytics, which may indicate discovery via an AI channel
- Check the consistency of information (name, address, phone) across all directories and local platforms, as AIs draw from these sources
The consistency of data across all points of presence remains the most actionable factor. A different address between the Google listing, Yellow Pages, and a sector directory muddles the signal sent to algorithms, whether traditional or generative.
The landscape of local visibility is evolving faster than measurement tools. A business that updates its Google listing, structures its content to answer customer questions, and verifies its presence in conversational AIs currently covers the three channels through which a local customer can find it. The rest will depend on how quickly these generative engines become entrenched in daily usage.