Local Visibility Is Now Four Separate Games – brightonSEO October 2026

A short intro on the four new games next to Google Maps, then a bullet list of what the talk covers. That includes the correction to the April data (US direction requests rose 31.3%, they didn’t fall 43%) and the “Five things to do by Monday” slide. It ends with a link to gmbapi.com

Transcript

1. Local Visibility Is Now Four Separate Games Four new games, AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Ask Maps, next to the one you already play: Google (Maps). Michel van Luijtelaar GMBapi @GMBapi | michel@gmbapi.com
2. About GMBapi What we do Local SEO at scale: citations, reviews, AI visibility, services, and GBP health in one place. Growing 60% year on year Mostly agency clients winning new business and onboarding it to our platform. Our unique value “Best Estimated ROI” in Local SEO Software (G2 users). The only all-in-one platform with GBP as the source of truth. #1 Credit-free geo-grids & AI scans 22% Increased visibility 89% Time saved in Local SEO
3. About Local SEO Reviews Technology • Review reply rejection • Rich media in reviews • AI content check • Agencies and multi-location brands use AI to level up Agents & agentic Customer journey • Booking and research at the top of the funnel: Muse • Reserve with Google • Many platforms, each with its own model Google treats GBP as a platform: one data layer, rendered differently on every screen. Source: Michel van Luijtelaar, GMBapi; 'GBP as a platform' from Brad Wetherall, The GBP Experts (unpublished, Sept 2026)
4. What we'll cover today 1 2 3 Industry developments since April Including a correction to our own data. How to play all the new games AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Ask Maps, next to the home game: Google Maps. How GMBapi helps on every board Track the Map Pack, measure AI visibility, report calls, clicks, and directions.
5. Google is rebuilding search around AI 1B 2x 3x 2.5B monthly AI Mode users AI Mode queries, every quarter longer queries monthly AI Overview users “Google search is AI search through and through.” Liz Reid, VP of Search, Google I/O 2026 Our prediction: AI Mode becomes the default by May 2027. Source: Google I/O 2026 keynote by Liz Reid;
6. What we told you in April was wrong US, Q1 2026 vs Q1 2025 Direction requests didn't fall 43%. They rose 31.3%. The journey is shifting, not collapsing. Source: GMBapi benchmark, gmbapi.com/news/local-seo-2026-ai-packs-vanishing-calls (5,000 to 10,000 US profiles). April values from the GMBapi BrightonSEO April 2026 deck.
7. Q2 in the EU: the same shift, but milder EU, Q2 2026 vs Q2 2025 Calls and clicks: only −5%. Directions +13.1% Down from +21.7% in Q1. Desktop Maps fell from −16.5% to −34.7%. Source: GMBapi benchmark, gmbapi.com/news/local-seo-2026-ai-packs-vanishing-calls (11,073 EU locations)
8. Rankings up. Calls down. +20–30% −40% Local rankings, year on year Calls and leads, year on year One 100-location franchise. Rank reports no longer map to revenue. Source: Andrew Shotland (Local SEO Guide) on Near Media EP 275, Sept 2026
9. One home game, four new games, two boards GOOGLE'S BOARD: website, GBP, Google reviews, Knowledge Graph OpenAI BOARD HOME GAME NEW GAME 1 NEW GAME 2 NEW GAME 4 NEW GAME 3 Google Maps & Map Pack AI Overviews AI Mode Ask Maps ChatGPT READS READS READS READS READS Category, proximity, reviews, engagement GBP, YouTube, Reddit, social GBP, social, and video GBP and Google reviews Yelp/Yell, Bing/Apple Maps, website HANDS OFF TO HANDS OFF TO HANDS OFF TO HANDS OFF TO HANDS OFF TO Call, directions, website Map Pack, call, or AI Mode Google's agent books or calls Directions Google Maps link, OpenTable, Yelp Source: Malte Landwehr (Peec AI), Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026; Andrew Shotland, Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026; GMBapi April 2026 deck
10. THE HOME GAME | GOOGLE MAPS & THE MAP PACK GBP still the most crucial local platform 92% 79% +13–36% of self-storage searches show a local pack of local services searches show a local pack direction requests YoY, Q2 Ranks as it always has Still beats AI on mobile The new games land here Proximity, primary category, prominence. More local packs than AI Overviews. Ask Maps and ChatGPT directions open Google Maps. Source: Nozzle & Local Falcon via Andrew Shotland, Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026; GMBapi benchmark, gmbapi.com/news/local-seo-2026-ai-packs-vanishing-calls
11. GAME 1 | AI OVERVIEWS The front door, not the destination 50–68% of local searches show an AI Overview 23% / 8% show a cited URL, desktop / mobile 18% of citations come from YouTube It rarely sends the click. 12% of brand mentions are linked on desktop, 28% on mobile. One follow-up question moves the user into AI Mode. Source: Local Falcon & Nozzle via Andrew Shotland, Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026; Whitespark via Brad Wetherall
12. GAME 1 | AI OVERVIEWS It reacts to profile text within days 3 to 4 days Missing service phrase added to the GBP description and 20 citations: AI Overview visibility rose. Andrew Shotland, Local SEO Guide Write a description AI wants to reuse. What you do, for whom, and where. Plain, declarative sentences. Near-instant A Telco brand with 100+ locations updated its GBP services: AI visibility grew almost immediately. Michel van Luijtelaar, GMBapi Source: Andrew Shotland, Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026 (Dragon Metrics tracking); GMBapi client data
13. GAME 2 | AI MODE Personal by default, and it acts for you 1 2 3 Personal by default The agent hands off Attributes are the gate Every user sees a different result. Rank is an audience of one. Google's agent books and calls. ParkBee: 105% more bookings via Reserve with Google. Missing attributes exclude you before ranking starts. Source: Brad Wetherall (unpublished, Sept 2026); ParkBee (Joost Heetla) via GMBapi, April 2026; Near Media EP 275, Sept 2026
14. GAME 3 | CHATGPT Two answers from two sets of sources The map answer • US: ⅓ Yelp, ⅓ internal pool, ⅓ scraped Google Maps • UK / Germany: different sources again The text answer • Editorial lists, delivery apps, review sites • UK: Yell almost everywhere • No Google reviews Source: Malte Landwehr (Peec AI), Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026; Andrew Shotland, Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026
15. GAME 3 | CHATGPT ChatGPT Maps and its local play Maps & search Google, Apple, Bing First-party Your website, structured data Vertical platforms Tripadvisor, Yelp, OpenTable, Booking.com Local ecosystems Country directories: Yell in the UK Community signals Reviews, photos, user edits AI search Web sources combined into one answer THE IMPLICATION No single local database. ChatGPT triangulates. THE GMBapi OPPORTUNITY One source of truth, many local ecosystems. Source: OpenAI Help Center, 'Searching the web with ChatGPT'; Google Business Profile and Places API documentation.
16. GAME 3 | CHATGPT It hands the customer to Google Maps 1.2% vs 35.9% 68% vs 100% More partners Locations recommended: ChatGPT Profile accuracy: ChatGPT vs vs 3-pack Gemini ChatGPT recommends you User taps directions Restaurant bookings: OpenTable, Yelp, Resy Google Maps link opens Lands as a GBP direction request Your GBP reports may already include ChatGPT's “conversions”. You just can't see where it came from. Source: Malte Landwehr (Peec AI), Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026; SOCi 2026 Local Visibility Index via GMBapi
17. GAME 4 | ASK MAPS Runs on reviews, ends in directions Conversational People describe a situation, not a keyword. LAUNCHED 12 Mar: US and India 6 Aug: 150+ countries UK and EU: not yet confirmed Personal Past reviews bring customers back. Direction requests, Q2 YoY +13.1% EU Review-led +21.1% US Page 4 to #1 in two days, after reviews said ‘X offers the best Y in Z’. +35.8% UK Source: CNBC, 12 Mar 2026; EFTM, Aug 2026; GMBapi April 2026 deck; Steve Wiideman, Duda panel, Jul 2026; GMBapi benchmark, gmbapi.com/news/local-seo-2026-ai-packs-vanishing-calls
18. Five journeys, five breakpoints Map Pack AI Overviews AI Mode ChatGPT Ask Maps DISCOVER VALIDATE ACT (BREAKPOINT) Searches ‘near me’ Compares pack & reviews Calls, directions, website Sees a summary Cited, rarely clicked Follow-up to AI Mode Asks in conversation Personal answer User (or agent) books or calls Asks for a pick Map and text disagree gMaps or a Vertical Platform (OpenTable) Reviews decide Straight to GBP directions Describes a need Source: Near Media EP 275, Sept 2026; Brad Wetherall; Malte Landwehr (Peec AI), Duda Local AEO Masterclass, Jul 2026 Track the Map Pack. Measure the rest. Map key citations. Ask every lead how they found you.
19. How GMBapi measures all five platforms Local Rank & Competitor Tracking 1 The home game: unlimited geo-grid scans, no credits. Local AI Ranking 2 The new games: ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Perplexity. Local IPs, daily, weekly or monthly. Custom Reporting 3 The outcome: calls, clicks, and directions, year on year, with anomaly detection. Agentic questions. API. Source: GMBapi product documentation Track the Map Pack. Measure actions everywhere else. Anomaly detection caught our own April error.
20. Five things to do by Monday 1 Keep winning the Map Pack. It's still the home game. 2 Track the Map Pack, measure the rest. In the new games, rank is personal. 3 Keep your GBP fresh. It feeds four of the five platforms. 4 Win ChatGPT off Google. Yelp, Yell, editorial lists, delivery apps. 5 Create locally unique content. Get local teams engaged with their GBPs. Drop by our stand downstairs Free access to Local AI Visibility gmbapi.com | michel@gmbapi.com