E29: How To Optimize Google's Local AI, LSAs For Restaurants, Schema

AI is really changing local search!

April 28, 2026

Is there a new local search “ranking” factor?

Up until now, one of the best ways to rage bait me has been to say that optimizing your Google Business Profile description will help your local rankings.

Google doesn’t use the description in the local search algorithm, but Ask Maps changes things.

Prompts on Ask Maps aren’t usually as simple as “dentists in Miami”. They are more likely to contain specific details like “dentists in Miami that are less than a mile away from me and specialize in broken teeth”.

Research by Rich Sanger shows that Ask Maps will look at everything on your GBP, including your business description. So, the more informational your description, the bigger your chance to get surfaced in Ask Maps results for such detailed queries.

Claire and I talk about this in today’s podcast episode, as well as:

  • ‘Restaurants’ and ‘coffee and dessert’ now have local service ads (Eric Levine)

  • Schema Markup for Internal Knowledge Graphs to Support Topic Entity Strategy in AI Search (Aimee Jurenka)

  • Google Maps Blocked 292 Million Reviews & Removed 13 Million Fake Profiles (Barry Schwartz)

  • The ghost citation problem (Kevin Indig)

  • Commodity and Non-Commodity Content (Mark Williams-Cook)

  • Most SEOs Are Preparing for Yesterday's Internet (Ross Simmonds)

Watch the episode here 👇️

🎧 Or if you prefer listening, find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch by topic:

00:00 Intro
00:55 How to Optimize Google’s Ask Maps
05:32 Local Services Ads for Restaurants
07:34 Schema Markup for Internal Knowledge Graphs to Support Topic Entity Strategy in AI Search
09:59 Google Maps Blocked 292 Million Reviews
13:20 The Ghost Citation Problem
16:30 Commodity and Non-Commodity Content
20:26 Most SEOs Are Preparing for Yesterday's Internet
21:35 Outro

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Darren