--- title: What are local searches? description: Local searches happen when a customer is searching online with the objective of finding an offline location to go/visit. --- [Skip to content](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/what-are-local-searches#main-content) English Show submenu for translations [Go to Customer Portal](https://help.localistico.com/tickets?hsLang=en) ![logo](https://help.localistico.com/hubfs/logo.svg) - [Help & Support](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge) - [Go to Localistico](https://localistico.com/) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Help & Support](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge) - [Go to Localistico](https://localistico.com/) - English Show submenu for translations - [Go to Customer Portal](https://help.localistico.com/tickets) Hi! 👋 What can we help you with? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Help & Support](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge?hsLang=en) 2. [Frequently Asked Questions](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/frequently-asked-questions?hsLang=en) # What are local searches? ## Local searches are how people find places near them to visit, call or buy from. This article explains what a local search looks like today, now that AI assistants are part of the picture, and what that means for your locations. ### What is a local search? A local search is any search where someone is looking online for a place they can go to in person: a shop, a restaurant, a clinic, a branch, a garage. Some local searches are easy to spot because they include a place or the words "near me": - *hairdressers near me* - *pharmacy open now in Valencia* - *Starbucks London* Others don't mention a location at all, like *Italian restaurant* or *car insurance office*. Search engines and AI assistants know roughly where the person is, so they treat these as local searches too and show nearby options. More and more, people now ask full questions instead of typing a few keywords: - *Where can I get a gluten-free brunch near Retiro that's good for kids?* - *Which garage near me can do an MOT tomorrow morning?* - *Is there a pet-friendly hotel in Bilbao with parking?*   ### How local search has changed Until recently, a local search gave you a list of links and a map with a few businesses. You clicked around, compared and decided. Today, many local searches are answered by AI. Google shows AI Overviews and AI Mode at the top of the results, and people also ask assistants such as Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and Siri. These tools read information about businesses from many sources, summarise it and recommend a short list, often with a reason ("known for its vegan options and friendly staff"). ### This changes a few things: - **Questions are longer and more specific.** People describe exactly what they need, so details such as opening hours, services, accessibility or parking matter more than ever. - **There are fewer spots.** An AI answer usually names only a handful of businesses. There's no page 2: your location is either mentioned or it isn't. - **Answers combine several sources.** AI tools mix your listings, your website, reviews and other sites. If those sources disagree, the AI may give wrong information or leave you out. - **Decisions happen before the click.** Many people call, ask for directions or book straight from the answer, without visiting your website first. No one outside these companies knows exactly how each AI chooses, but the same signals keep coming up: - **Accurate, consistent information everywhere.** Name, address, phone number and opening hours should match on every platform, including special and holiday hours. - **Complete profiles.** The right primary and secondary categories, attributes (for example wheelchair access or outdoor seating), services, menus or products, and up-to-date photos. - **Reviews.** Your rating, how many reviews you have, how recent they are and what people actually say. AI reads review text, so comments about specific things ("great for families", "fast service") help you appear for those questions. - **Your replies.** Replying to reviews and questions shows the location is active and adds more useful detail. - **Useful local content.** Location pages on your website that search engines can read, with real information about each location rather than near-identical copies. Localistico's [AI Readiness Score](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/ai-readiness-score?hsLang=en) checks these signals for you, so you can see where each location stands. ### Anything to take into account? - **There are no guarantees.** AI answers change from person to person and from one day to the next, so no one can promise a location will always be mentioned. - **AI can get things wrong.** If an assistant shows the wrong hours or address, it's usually because one of its sources is out of date. Keeping your information current everywhere is the best fix. - **The basics still count.** Optimising for AI builds on good local SEO. It doesn't replace it. ### How Localistico helps you get ready for AI search Localistico helps you check how ready your locations are for AI, see whether AI assistants actually recommend you, and fix what's holding you back. ### Measure where you stand You'll find both of these in the **Intelligence** tab: - **AI Readiness Score:** a health check of whether AI tools can find, understand and recommend your business. It looks at eight areas, including Google Business Profile completeness, structured data on your website, NAP consistency, reviews, listings on other maps and directories, and whether AI crawlers can access your site. Read more in [Is your business AI-Ready? Understanding the AI Readiness Score](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/ai-readiness-score?hsLang=en). - **AI Visibility Index:** regularly asks leading AI models (from OpenAI, Google and Anthropic) the kind of questions your customers ask. It then scores you from 0 to 100 on how often you're mentioned, where you appear in the list, how positively you're described and whether the answer links to you. Read more in [AI Visibility Index: Measuring your brand in the AI Era](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/ai-visibility-index?hsLang=en). ### Fix what's holding you back - **AI Insights:** flags issues such as incomplete opening hours, missing or unlinked profiles, duplicates and unanswered reviews, right at the top of your Locations, Presence and Reputation tabs. See [What are AI Insights?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/what-are-ai-insights?hsLang=en) - **Presence Management:** keep your information accurate and consistent on Google, Apple, Bing and Meta from one place, and clean up duplicates. See [What does accuracy mean and how to improve it?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/what-is-accuracy-and-how-to-improve-it?hsLang=en) and [What are duplicated profiles and how to deal with them?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/what-is-a-duplicated-profile?hsLang=en) - **Reputation Management:** reply to reviews, and use the AI Reputation Dashboard to see which compliments and complaints come up most. These are the same things AI reads in your reviews. See [Why should I reply to my reviews?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/how-3?hsLang=en) and [What is the AI Reputation Dashboard?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/ai-reputation-dashboard?hsLang=en) - **Store Pages:** give every location its own page with local content that search engines and AI tools can read. See [What are Store Pages?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/what-are-store-pages?hsLang=en) - **AI Assistant:** write descriptions, posts and review replies faster. See [How to use the AI Assistant for content generation?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/how-to-use-the-ai?hsLang=en) The AI Readiness Score, AI Visibility Index and AI Reputation Dashboard are premium features and might not be included in your subscription plan. To activate them, or if you'd like help improving your locations' visibility, please contact [support@localistico.com](mailto:support@localistico.com) or your customer success manager. Related articles - [Is your business AI-Ready? Understanding the AI Readiness Score](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/ai-readiness-score?hsLang=en) - [AI Visibility Index: Measuring your brand in the AI Era](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/ai-visibility-index?hsLang=en) - [What are AI Insights?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/what-are-ai-insights?hsLang=en) - [What does accuracy mean and how to improve it?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/what-is-accuracy-and-how-to-improve-it?hsLang=en) - [Why should I reply to my reviews?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/how-3?hsLang=en) - [What are Store Pages?](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/what-are-store-pages?hsLang=en) - [Getting Started](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/getting-started?hsLang=en#main-content) - [Basic Settings](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/getting-started?hsLang=en#basic-settings) - [Business Structure](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/getting-started?hsLang=en#business-structure) - [Integrations](https://help.localistico.com/knowledge/getting-started?hsLang=en#integrations) - 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