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Google is testing Local Services Ads inside AI Mode
here's what this means
Hello!
Here’s my local SEO update for the week 👇️
1. ChatGPT fell below 50% market share for the first time since 2022
ChatGPT’s market share just dropped below 50% for the first time since 2022. According to Sensor Tower, ChatGPT crossed that line in March 2026.
ChatGPT’s competitors are stealing market share FAST:
Gemini usage has grown to 27.7%, with more than 1 in 4 people now using it.
And Claude’s US share jumped from 4.4% to nearly 14%.
ChatGPT was basically synonymous with generative AI for the last few years.
But now we’re seeing people spread their searches, questions, and recommendations across multiple AI platforms.
For SEOs and marketers, that means optimizing for “ChatGPT visibility” alone isn’t enough.
You need to be thinking about how your business shows up across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and whatever comes next.
AI search is fragmenting, just like traditional search did, and we’re only at the beginning.
See the discussion in the LinkedIn comments.
2. Google is testing Local Services Ads directly inside AI Mode answers
Anthony Higman First Shared This News, And He Absolutely Hates It (typed in Higman-case just for him)
Obviously, this kind of sucks. More ads means less space for organic results, and potentially fewer organic leads for businesses that are already fighting for visibility inside AI Mode.
But on the other hand, if your business has no AI visibility, at least you could buy your way in now.
This looks like a limited test at the moment.
But if it rolls out, then the ads will likely start taking away from organic leads in AI Mode results, just like they have in the standard Google results.
I’m curious to hear what others think about this. Do you absolutely “abhor” this update like Anthony, or do you think it will be helpful?
Do you absolutely “abhor” this update like Anthony, or do you think it will be helpful? See the discussion in the LinkedIn comments.
3. This tool turns your website into a content map
Watch the video below to learn how it works (detailed instructions in the caption) 👇️
4. Catch up on the pod
Local SEO hack: Use your competitors’ review questions to find out what services Google has suggested for their business (and steal them).
For context, review questions are the additional questions Google asks when you’re leaving a review on a Google Business Profile (what services did you get, was there parking there, etc).
Here’s a cool thing you can do with your competitor’s review questions:
Go to leave a review on your competitor’s GBP and scroll down to the “What services did you get?” question.
Google will give you a list of services to check off.
This list comes from their GBP Services section. It will show the services the business has added, but it ALSO includes all the services that Google SUGGESTS for the business to add to their Profile.
Take note of any uncommon services, or services you don’t currently offer, and consider offering them.
Claire and I discuss this hack from Miriam Ellis’s brilliant study on review questions, as well as:
Links back in GBP products populated via product editor (Claire Carlile)
Yelp Licenses Its Review, Photo, and Request-a-Quote Data to ChatGPT (Krystal Taing)
You Need to Nail Your “Brand Facts” (Cyrus Shepard)
New GBP Feature: Report Owner Response (Vinay Toshniwal, Jacek N. Kozio)
15 Tips for Winning in LLMs (Suganthan Mohanadasan)
Watch the episode here 👇️
🎧 Or if you prefer listening, find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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Darren
P.S. Whitespark can help you ⬇️
😍 Visualize your local search performance on the most beautiful ranking grids
🚨 Get notified when Google updates your GBP and reject unwanted changes
🚀 Increase your local rankings and conversions
📈 Track rankings across different zip/post-codes
⭐️ Get more reviews
🧹 Clean up and build citations
🔍 Find citation opportunities
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