Checked October 8, 2026
How AI is changing the way customers find local businesses
A plain look at what's changed, using published research and the AI companies' own figures. Where every number comes from is listed on the sources page, linked at the bottom.
Asking
People are asking AI who to call
In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of U.S. adults, 45% said they'd used an AI tool to find a local business in the past year, up from 6% the year before. ChatGPT was the most used (31%), followed by Google's AI Mode (23%).
People don't take the answer on trust: 88% of those using AI said they check it, for example by looking at whether a review is real or at the source the AI used.
Who asks AI to recommend a local business
Share who used an AI tool for a local business recommendation in the past year.
- Ages 30 to 4464%
- All U.S. adults45%
- Over 6024%
Show the numbers
| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| Ages 30 to 44 | 64% |
| All U.S. adults | 45% |
| Over 60 | 24% |
Which AI tools people used
Share of U.S. consumers who used each tool for a business recommendation in the past year.
- Any AI tool45%
- ChatGPT31%
- Google AI Mode23%
Show the numbers
| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| Any AI tool | 45% |
| ChatGPT | 31% |
| Google AI Mode | 23% |
Scale
The assistants are big, and still growing
OpenAI says more than 900 million people used ChatGPT every week in February 2026, and in September 2026 it counted 1.2 billion weekly users across its products. Google says its AI Mode passed 1 billion monthly users within a year of launching.
People using ChatGPT every week
ChatGPT went from 100M weekly users on Nov 6, 2023 to more than 900M on Feb 27, 2026, as announced by OpenAI.
Show the numbers
| Announced | Weekly users |
|---|---|
| Nov 6, 2023 | 100M |
| Aug 29, 2024 | 200M |
| Dec 4, 2024 | 300M |
| Feb 20, 2025 | 400M |
| Mar 31, 2025 | 500M |
| Aug 4, 2025 | About 700M |
| Oct 6, 2025 | 800M |
| Feb 27, 2026 | 900M |
Clicks
When AI answers first, fewer people click through
In a Pew Research Center study of real browsing, 18% of Google searches showed an AI summary. When one appeared, people clicked a regular result in 8% of visits, compared with 15% when there was no summary. They clicked a link inside the summary in just 1% of visits.
What people do when Google shows an AI summary
Share of visits to a Google results page, with and without an AI summary.
Clicked a regular search result
15%8%Ended their browsing session there
16%26%
Show the numbers
| What people did | No AI summary | With an AI summary |
|---|---|---|
| Clicked a regular search result | 15% | 8% |
| Ended their browsing session there | 16% | 26% |
My reading
What this means for a local business
My reading of the numbers above.
- When the answer comes first, the businesses named in it are the ones people see. Being named in that answer now matters alongside where you appear in a list of links.
- AI assistants put their answers together from what they can find online, such as Google Business Profiles, websites and directory listings. Nobody controls what they say, but you can make sure what they find about you is complete, current and consistent.
- People still check reviews and sources before they decide, so accurate details and genuine reviews count for even more.
Results vary between runs. No placement is guaranteed.
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