Google AI Overviews appear on about 68% of local searches. The map pack — the three-listing block at the top of results that local businesses have spent years competing for — appears on about 39%. That 29-point gap is a set of customers who ask a question, read Google's own answer, and never scroll to the listings.
This is the quiet change in local search this year. Nothing about the map pack got worse. It simply moved down the page, underneath an answer Google writes itself, drawing on sources it chooses.
Who gets cited in the overview
Not, for the most part, the businesses themselves. Analysis of local AI Overview citations found that roughly 60% point to third-party publishers — Reddit, Quora, Yelp, Thumbtack, HomeGuide, ZipRecruiter — while about 40% cite individual local businesses. So even when a business appears, it is often because a third-party site mentioned it, not because its own website was chosen.
What a local business should do
- Keep ranking for the map pack. It still converts, and it is still visible on 39% of searches. This is not either/or.
- Write the answer Google wants to give. If people search "how much does a crown cost in Denver", have a page that answers it plainly, in the first paragraph, with a heading that matches the question.
- Add FAQ and LocalBusiness schema. Structured data is how the overview identifies a trustworthy, citable source. Pages with it are cited around three times more often.
- Be present on the third-party sites Google cites. A Yelp listing that is complete, a Reddit thread where a customer recommended you, a directory entry with the same details as your website.
- Check your own queries monthly. Search the questions your customers ask and note whether an overview appears, who it cites, and whether that is you.
The map pack rewarded being close and being categorised correctly. The AI Overview rewards being the clearest, best-evidenced answer to the question. Businesses need both, and most have only worked on the first.
Questions
- How often do AI Overviews appear for local searches?
- Around 68% of local searches now trigger a Google AI Overview, compared with about 39% that show the traditional map pack. The overview sits above everything else and answers the question directly.
- Does the map pack still matter?
- Yes, but it is no longer the top of the page. It matters most for navigational searches where someone already knows who they want. For discovery searches — "best", "near me", "who should I use" — the AI Overview increasingly answers before the map pack is reached.
Sources
Related service
Google Business Profile Optimization