This post was sponsored by DAC. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own.
The new reality of Search and brand discovery requires an Enterprise-to-Local strategy.
Traditional keyword-driven search engine results pages (SERPs) are being disrupted by AI-driven experiences that anticipate, summarize, and even act on users’ needs.
As generative AI tools like Google’s AI Overviews and platforms such as Perplexity become more prominent in the Search journey, the marketer’s task expands: It’s no longer just about ranking well on Google but being visible wherever decisions begin.
For multilocation businesses, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity. AI is flattening the competitive playing field, restructuring what influences purchasing decisions, and automating formerly human-led interactions.
Here are four key takeaways to help local marketers understand what’s changing, what strategies are needed right now, and what the future holds.
Strategy 1. You Must Navigate Google’s AI-First Search Experience To Stay Visible
Google’s inclusion of AI Overviews has introduced an entirely new kind of SERP.
These AI-generated summaries often sit atop the page, pushing traditional blue links down. Unlike the 10-blue-link layout of old, AI Overviews synthesize answers across sources, citing a few but effectively removing the need to click.
What To Look For, Learn About & Incorporate
Google’s AI Mode, now available as a Labs experiment, prioritizes user intent by stitching together information to answer nuanced queries (e.g., “best affordable Thai near me for a date”) into a conversational response.
For local queries, it factors in:
- proximity.
- reputation.
- content sentiment.
- cited content.
What No Longer Works
Structured data or map pack signals alone do not supply enough context to be recognized in a modern AI-first search experience.
Strategy 2. Adopt An Enterprise-To-Local Strategy To Capture Both Informational & Local Intent
DAC’s study of over 700 real SERPs across four major verticals (Apparel, Auto Services, Financial Services & Insurance, and Home Services) revealed a clear divergence between the kinds of queries that trigger AI Overviews (AIOs) and those that surface the traditional Maps Pack.
Only 1% of queries triggered both features in the same SERP. When both appeared, the AIO came first, pushing the Maps Pack below the fold.
What To Look For, Learn About & Incorporate
AIOs dominate informational queries, while Maps Packs dominate transactional or locational ones:
- Queries beginning with question words (“how,” “why,” “what”) triggered AIOs 28% of the time, but Maps Packs <1%.
- “Near me” queries triggered Maps Packs 100% of the time and never triggered an AIO.
- Pluralized terms (e.g., “jackets”) were more likely to trigger AIOs than singular or specific terms.
Marketers, especially those managing multilocation brands, need a bifurcated strategy:
For AI Overviews
- Invest in informational content that addresses common customer questions.
- Ensure that content is structured, educational, and aligns with E-E-A-T principles (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
- Use clear question-answer formatting to increase chances of AIO inclusion.
For Maps Pack Visibility
- Optimize your Google Business profile.
- Encourage reviews and manage responses.
- Create localized landing pages with clear CTAs and schema markup.
- Use local backlinks and citations to build trust.
Strategy 3. Gain Visibility In Alternate Search Experiences With A Distributed Content Footprint
Many users, especially younger generations, are increasingly bypassing traditional search engines altogether.
Inject your brand into new channels and open your windows and doors to complete visibility.
Perplexity AI has seen a remarkable rise in adoption, with around 22 million monthly active users in 2025, positioning it as a major alternative search platform.
Perplexity can geolocate the user and surface locally-relevant searches through its own web crawling, but also offers specific Local Search functionality that is enriched by a Yelp integration, and a restaurant booking capability that integrates with OpenTable – highlighting the importance of strong business listing data partnerships for any AI-based search that wishes to challenge Google’s dominance.
Reddit has become a trusted resource for recommendations, given the importance consumers are placing on social proof. Reddit commands strong loyalty among younger users, with over 70% of its user base being Millennials or Gen Z.
Its long-lasting content delivers value over time; 34% of Reddit posts continue to be viewed more than a year after posting. While Reddit does not offer an explicitly local search function, local business discovery is discussion-based.
Local content can be prioritized in the interface through the user’s geolocation, and explicitly local subreddits (e.g., r/Vancouver) can become forums for brands to build authentic connections with local customers.
TikTok is also a strong contender. A 2024 Adobe study revealed that 64% of Gen Z and 49% of Millennials have used TikTok as a search engine. While TikTok does not provide a maps-based search, its “Nearby” feed supports the discovery of content posted by local creators.
TikTok is currently testing an experimental feature that will place user-generated reviews into the Comments section when a place or local business has been tagged in the content.
In this way, TikTok can support local brand discovery through a blend of metadata, location tagging, and algorithmic signals. TikTok’s rapidly evolving paid search capabilities also support geotargeting as granularly as the zip code level.
The generational differences in Search behavior are clear. Gen Z often turns to TikTok and Reddit for inspiration and discovery rather than Google.
Millennials blend traditional, AI-assisted, and visual search, while Gen X and Boomers still lean toward Google, though they’re increasingly open to AI-generated summaries.
What To Look For, Learn About & Incorporate
To reach these diverse platforms and audiences requires tailored content. Video-first assets optimized for TikTok, Reels, and YouTube cater well to short-form, visual-first consumption.
On forums such as Reddit and Quora, building textual credibility through authentic, conversational answers is key.
Pinterest thrives on visuals and moodboards, while FAQs, how-to guides, and structured content (with schema markup) are crucial for AI engines that reward clear, structured information.
In this evolving landscape, marketers must build a distributed content footprint to ensure a presence wherever people are searching, and where AI tools may source it.
As AI platforms increasingly summarize content from various social and community channels, your brand’s participation in those discussions becomes essential, not just for visibility, but to be cited accurately.
Strategy 4. Prepare For The Future Of Agentic Local Search
We are entering the agentic era, where users don’t just search, they delegate.
Google’s experimental “Call with AI” feature allows users to let an AI assistant call local businesses on their behalf. This transforms search from a real-time human task into an asynchronous agentic process.
What To Look For, Learn About & Incorporate
Key Impacts:
- Proximity matters less: If AI finds a better deal 20 minutes away, you may be willing to make the trip
- Price pressure increases: Transparent price comparisons and AI-led negotiations could initiate a race to the bottom
- “Vibes” matter less: Warm greetings won’t influence the AI. Decision-making shifts from emotional to transactional.
- Big brands lose leverage: Without human biases for logos or familiarity, small businesses can compete if they meet the decision criteria
Operational Challenges
- Call volume may spike, but call value drops; your business could receive 100 AI-generated inquiries while winning only a few sales.
- Unanswered calls = lost sale. AI agents will move on quickly if a call goes unanswered.
- Scalability issues: AI can contact 100 businesses in seconds. Human-staffed phones can’t scale similarly.
Long-Term Adjustments
- Structured pricing data must be public and machine-readable.
- Agent-to-agent negotiation will require new infrastructure, with bots communicating with each other to confirm inventory and schedule appointments.
- Local search becomes asynchronous: Agents might initiate requests at midnight and complete transactions during business hours, with no human involved.
Evolving Local Search, Enduring Foundations
There has been a seismic shift in how users discover brands and make decisions.
Businesses, especially multilocation enterprises, must adapt to a new hybrid model where visibility is dictated by both informational depth and local precision.
What’s Changing:
- AI reshapes SERPs: Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode prioritize synthesized answers and intent-matching over clickable links, reducing organic link visibility.
- Query types split visibility paths: Informational queries are now more likely to trigger AI Overviews, while transactional/local queries still favor Maps Packs; rarely do both appear together.
- New platforms drive discovery: Reddit, TikTok, Perplexity, and Pinterest are no longer fringe sources – they are now primary discovery tools for younger generations.
- Agentic search emerges: Users increasingly delegate tasks to AI (e.g., “Call with AI”), reshaping search from human-led interactions into asynchronous, bot-to-bot transactions.
- Operational pressure increases: Businesses must prepare for surges in AI-driven interactions, increased price competition, and reduced influence of brand familiarity or emotional cues.
What’s Staying The Same:
- Relevance and trust still rule: Google’s EEAT ranking principles remain crucial for AI visibility.
- Local optimization is still vital: For transactional/local intent, the Maps Pack remains dominant. Accurate business listings, reviews, and structured local content continue to impact discoverability.
- Content matters: Informational, structured, and platform-tailored content remains the cornerstone of any successful visibility strategy, only now must it live across multiple channels and formats.
- Brand credibility drives citations: AI systems rely on trustworthy sources, so being the “answer” in AIOs or Perplexity depends on being referenced as a reputable, visible voice across the web.
To thrive in this transformed landscape, marketers must double down on creating a distributed content footprint, intent-driven optimization, and technical readiness for AI delegation, while still leaning on the fundamentals of trust, relevance, and local authority.
At DAC, we help brands thrive in this complexity with strategies that balance informational depth, local precision, and future-ready adaptability. Our recent analysis of 700+ SERPs across four major industries reveals how AI Overviews and Maps Packs divide visibility and what multilocation brands must do to capture both.
If you’re ready to turn today’s search disruption into tomorrow’s growth, get the full insights in our new whitepaper.
Image Credits
Featured Image: Image by DAC. Used with permission.
