How Local SEO Became a National Factor in the AI World

When I started in SEO over a decade ago, I probably would've told you that Local SEO was only relevant for service-based SMEs... trades, dentists, coffee shops.

And even after building an agency around organic search, I’ve heard the same thing from national brands again and again:

We’re not local, so we don’t need local SEO.

But the truth is that local signals now impact national visibility.

And if you ignore them, you’ll fall behind in both traditional and AI-first search.

This isn’t a prediction... we’re already seeing it happen.

Why This Matters Move Than Ever

In my opinion, search is shifting and will continue to evolve in the coming years.

The AI-powered interfaces we’re now dealing with, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Mode, are retraining how people discover and compare brands.

Users aren’t just clicking links anymore.

They’re being served summarised answers and recommended providers without ever visiting a website.

And what’s shaping those answers?

• Real reviews

• Third-party platforms

• Entity strength and brand mentions

• Local credibility signals, even for non-local queries

What we’re really talking about here is authority distribution.

And the brands that win will be the ones who understand how to feed the right signals in the right places.

AI Search Is Quietly Building Its Own Map Pack

The AI Map Pack isn’t just a new version of "near me" searches.

It’s a new layer of brand discovery, powered by trust signals that national brands often overlook.

We're seeing generative tools pull answers from:

• Google Business Profiles

• Local press coverage

• Aggregator sites (in the UK, it's typically Clutch, Bark, TrustPilot, Checkatrade)

• Reddit threads and micro-forums

• Schema and structured business directories

• Even staff mentions in public bios

And crucially, they’re using these signals to influence national rankings.

It’s no longer enough to have one well-designed homepage or a few general testimonials.

If you don’t have local proof of your presence, AI just doesn’t see you as visible or trustworthy enough to recommend.

Google AI Mode Rewards What Most Brands Still Overlook

We’ve been testing AI Mode in the UK since it launched last week.

And what we’ve seen consistently is that it gives weight to the simple, unsexy stuff that smart SEOs have been preaching for years:

• Accurate NAP info across platforms

• Rich, up-to-date Google Business Profiles

• Well-written local landing pages with proper schema

• Review density and recency

The big difference?

These are now ranking levers, not just hygiene factors.

And you don’t need to be a local-only business to benefit.

We've seen national brands get picked up in AI answers because they had city-level presence, even if their HQ was hundreds of miles away.

What We're Seeing From Real Brands We Work With

This isn't just theory.

We’ve rolled out local strategies for national clients across industries in recent years, and it's working for them on ChatGPT Maps and now AI Mode:

• A stairlift company now ranks in over 40 local searches thanks to city-specific landing pages paired with structured data and getting citations in local press outlets

• A local law firm is frequently cited in national searches on ChatGPT/Perplexity for information related to criminal defence.

I feel like it's not about volume, it's about complete clarity.

AI needs to understand you.

Local relevance helps build that understanding, even if you serve the entire country.

Local-Sounding Domains Are Still Winning

One of our lead-gen sites, Scissor Lift Hire Liverpool, now generates 25+ monthly enquiries and has generated thousands of pounds in the past months.

The vast majority of these enquiries and clicks are coming through Google Maps, but visibility is much stronger on AI Mode than I expected, considering the lack of attention we've given it.

It doesn’t win due to its high domain authority and heavy investment.

It wins because:

• The domain reinforces intent

• The content is hyper-specific and helpful

• It’s supported by a clean GBP, local press, and schema

With AI, that specificity wins.

It gives context to LLMs.

It helps surface you in broader queries. And it’s a model that more national brands should learn from.

Reviews and Aggregators Are Now Visibility Engines

Everyone wants national press, but AI seems to prefer structured authority.

We’re seeing TrustPilot, Clutch, and similar platforms show up more in AI answers than many news outlets. And not just for links, but for brand validation.

Why? Because:

• These sites are clean, structured, and easy for LLMs to parse

• They often mention company specialisms, categories, and locations

• They build entity depth, which is key in AI discovery

If you’re not managing these platforms actively, you’re invisible to the new layer of search.

Local SEO Is Not Just for Small Businesses Anymore

There’s a growing divide between brands that are AI-visible and those that aren’t.

And one of the best ways to get on the right side of that is by thinking local, even if you operate nationally.

We’ve seen it across multiple verticals.

• Local press coverage reinforces your authority

• Google Reviews contribute to generative snapshots

• Structured, city-level landing pages feed AI context

• Aggregators help you exist in LLMs, even without a top-3 organic ranking

We rank right up there for Local SEO Agency, and in the last few months, we’ve had more enquiries than ever from national brands asking how they can show up in ChatGPT’s version of the map pack.

That’s the signal.

This shift is already here, and it’s going to accelerate.

In Summary

We’re entering an era where the quality of your brand’s local footprint may shape your national presence.

AI doesn’t care how big your business is, it cares how well it is understood.

If you’re not giving it the clarity, structure, and trust signals it wants, someone smaller, sharper, and more local will take your place.

Local SEO used to be a tactical bolt-on.

Now? It’s a strategic growth channel for national visibility in an AI-first search landscape.

Don’t wait until the playing field gets more crowded.

Get your structure right now and let your authority scale from the ground up.