What Does BrightLocal's 45% Figure Say About Consumers Using AI for Local Services?
BrightLocal's 45% figure says that in its 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey, 45% of US adults said they had used ChatGPT or other generative AI tools for local business recommendations. That was up from 6% a year earlier, and it made AI the third most-used source for local recommendations, after Google and Facebook. The survey of 1,002 US adults puts the figure within about three points either way. What it does not say is how often people use AI for this, for which kinds of business, or whether they act on what it tells them. BrightLocal's other 2026 research suggests most people still check Google before they choose. AI has become a real step in local discovery, but it has not replaced the rest.
What exactly does the figure measure?
The Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 was published in February 2026 and ran through SurveyMonkey. Its panel of 1,002 US adults was balanced across age groups: 22% aged 18 to 29, 25% aged 30 to 44, 28% aged 45 to 59 and 25% aged 60 and over. Respondents were asked which sources they use for local business recommendations and reviews. BrightLocal reports:
- 45% used ChatGPT or other generative AI tools for local recommendations, up from 6% the year before.
- Google remained the top source but fell from 83% to 71%.
- Consumers used six review sites on average when choosing businesses.
- Facebook, Tripadvisor, BBB, Apple Maps, Trustpilot, Healthgrades, Yellow Pages and Angi all saw more use than the year before.
- 97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, and 41% "always" do, up from 29%.
So the 45% is a measure of reach: how many people have used AI for this at all. It is not a measure of how much local search happens through AI.
How precise is it?
With 1,002 respondents, a 45% result has a margin of error of about ±3.1 percentage points at the usual 95% confidence level. The true figure for the panel's population is likely between about 42% and 48%. Google's 71% is precise to about ±2.8 points. The rise from 6% is far larger than sampling error, so the growth is real in direction.
Two cautions apply. First, online panels over-represent people who are comfortable online, which may lift AI figures. Second, check the exact question wording for each year before comparing them. A small change in wording, or in which tools were listed, can move a figure like this. Treat 45% as "a large minority, up sharply", not as a precise national count.
What does the figure leave out?
- Frequency. Using AI once in a year counts the same as using it every week. BrightLocal's 2026 Consumer Search Behavior survey found 58% had tried AI for local recommendations, and 31% used it at least monthly.
- Whether people act on the answer. The same research found 18% trusted an AI answer enough to act on it without checking. Meanwhile 82% went to Google to confirm.
- Which services. A restaurant suggestion, a plumber and a divorce lawyer are very different decisions. The headline figure does not separate them.
- Which tools. "ChatGPT or other generative AI tools" may include Google's own AI features for some respondents, since many people do not distinguish them.
- Outside the US. The survey covers US adults only.
How does it compare with other data?
| Source | Finding |
|---|---|
| BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 | 45% used AI tools for local recommendations (6% in 2025) |
| BrightLocal Consumer Search Behavior 2026 | 58% had tried AI for local recommendations; 31% monthly; 18% acted without checking; 82% used Google to confirm |
| BrightLocal AI trust research, 2026 | 63% of active AI users trust AI business recommendations; 50% of consumers trust AI to summarise reviews |
| Pew Research, 2026 | 49% of US adults use AI chatbots at all |
| Scorpion home services report, 2026 | 22% of homeowners use AI tools such as ChatGPT to research home-services providers |
The figures fit together. About half of US adults use AI chatbots, and a similar share have used them for local recommendations at some point. Regular use is lower. Use for specific high-stakes services, such as home repairs, is lower still. Checking the answer on Google remains the norm.
Why does it matter for local businesses anyway?
Because the answers AI gives are built from the same sources people check. BrightLocal's analysis of 1.9 million AI citations found Google Business Profiles were the most cited source for local questions, at 28.5%, with Yelp at 8.53%. When someone asks ChatGPT for "a good dentist near me", the answer draws on profiles, reviews, directories and local articles. When they then check Google, they see the same profiles and reviews. A business that is weak on those sources loses twice. It is left out of the AI answer, then looks worse when the person checks.
The survey also shows people using more review sites, six on average. AI answers draw on several of them, so having good reviews on one platform only is riskier than it was. Which platforms matter and how to use them is covered in how local businesses can use Angi, Yelp and Thumbtack to improve AI visibility.
What should a local business do with this?
- Check what AI says about you. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions your customers ask, such as "best [service] in [town]" and "is [your business] any good?". Record whether you appear and what is said.
- Fix your Business Profile first. Categories, services, hours, service areas, photos and review responses. It is the most cited local source.
- Ask every customer for an honest review in their own words, on Google and on the other platforms your category's answers cite. The exception is Yelp: its rules forbid asking for reviews, so let Yelp reviews come on their own.
- Respond to reviews quickly and specifically. BrightLocal's survey found slow or generic responses are increasingly seen as a red flag.
- Make your website state the facts plainly: services, prices or price ranges, areas served and credentials, so answers have a source to quote.
- Measure before spending. Whether to pay for AI visibility tracking or put money elsewhere is covered in when a local business should buy AI visibility tracking instead of more Google Ads.
How should you quote the figure?
Accurately, with its source and date: "In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, 45% said they had used ChatGPT or other AI tools for local business recommendations, up from 6% the year before." Avoid saying that "45% of local searches happen in AI" or that "45% of consumers use AI to choose businesses". Neither is what the survey measured.
What might an illustrative case look like?
Consider an illustrative family-run heating engineer who read the 45% figure and worried that AI had taken their customers. Asking three assistants for heating engineers in their town showed they appeared in one answer out of six. The answers cited two directories where they had few reviews, and a Business Profile missing their boiler servicing category. They added the category, began asking every customer for an honest review on its Business Profile and on the most-cited directory, which was not Yelp, and added a price guide to their website. Three months later they appeared in about half the answers. New customers still mostly said they had "found you on Google", some after first asking an assistant.
What do people ask about the 45% figure?
Does 45% mean almost half of customers find local businesses through AI?
No. It means 45% had used AI for local recommendations at least once. Regular use and choosing through AI are both lower.
Is AI replacing Google for local search?
Not yet. Google remained the top source, and most people who use AI still confirm on Google.
Is the figure the same outside the US?
The survey covered US adults only. Adoption elsewhere may differ.
Which businesses are most affected?
The survey does not break it down by service. Test the questions for your own category to see how often you appear.
Published by The Kovmere Team · updated Sep 29, 2026 · More resources