AI Overviews Local Services Study 2026: Google Shows an AI Answer on 88% of Local Service Searches
Google now shows an AI Overview on 88% of searches for local services (351 of 400 live US and UK searches), and on every single "how much does it cost" search I checked. Leave out "near me" searches and it's 96%. The good news for small businesses: local firms' own websites earned about a third of the AI answer's citations (an estimated 35%), more than YouTube, Reddit, Facebook and every directory and marketplace combined (24%).
Published 8 October 2026 by Lilach Bullock. Data collected on 7 October 2026.
Small business owners keep asking me the same thing: if Google answers the question itself, does anyone still find my website? So I checked. I ran 400 real searches that customers type when they need a local service, from plumbers and dentists to divorce solicitors and dog groomers, on live Google in the US and the UK, and recorded every AI Overview and every website it cited.
The short answer is that the AI answer is now almost everywhere, but it isn't only quoting the giants. Here's what the data shows.
Key statistics
- 88% of local service searches show an AI Overview. 351 of the 400 searches had one: 174 of 200 in the US (87%) and 177 of 200 in the UK (88.5%).
- Independent websites earn 49% of all citations, more than any other kind of site. My hand check of 100 of them found 72 were local service firms or practitioners, which puts local businesses' own sites at about 35% of everything Google's AI cites.
- 70% of the sources Google's AI cites don't rank in the top 10 for the same search. Only 30.5% of citations go to a page from the first page of results, and the number one result is cited in just 36.5% of AI Overviews.
- "Near me" is still the map's job. Only 5 of 40 near me searches (12.5%) showed an AI Overview, while 39 of 40 showed the map pack of local businesses.
- YouTube is still the single most cited site. It appears in 51% of AI Overviews (58.7% in the US, 43.3% in the UK). Reddit appears in 27% and Facebook in 13%.
All 13 findings
- 88% of local service searches show an AI Overview. 351 of the 400 searches had one: 174 of 200 in the US (87%) and 177 of 200 in the UK (88.5%).
- Every cost search had one. All 40 of the "how much does a plumber, dentist, solicitor (and so on) cost" searches showed an AI Overview, in both countries.
- Leave out "near me" and it's 96%. 346 of the 360 other searches, from hiring advice to fixing a problem yourself, opened with an AI answer.
- "Near me" is still the map's job. Only 5 of 40 near me searches (12.5%) showed an AI Overview, while 39 of 40 showed the map pack of local businesses.
- Each AI Overview cites 7.7 sources on average (median 7), across 312 answers where the source list loaded.
- Independent websites earn 49% of all citations, more than any other kind of site. My hand check of 100 of them found 72 were local service firms or practitioners, which puts local businesses' own sites at about 35% of everything Google's AI cites.
- That's more than YouTube, Reddit, Facebook and the directories put together. Video and social platforms, forums and Q&A sites, and directories, marketplaces and job sites take 24% of citations between them.
- 90% of AI Overviews cite at least one independent website (280 of 312), so there's room for a small business in almost every answer.
- YouTube is still the single most cited site. It appears in 51% of AI Overviews (58.7% in the US, 43.3% in the UK). Reddit appears in 27% and Facebook in 13%.
- 70% of the sources Google's AI cites don't rank in the top 10 for the same search. Only 30.5% of citations go to a page from the first page of results, and the number one result is cited in just 36.5% of AI Overviews.
- UK answers lean harder on directories. Directories and marketplaces take 11.6% of UK citations against 8.7% in the US, and Checkatrade alone appears in 14% of UK AI Overviews. Independent sites still win more UK citations (53%) than US ones (45%).
- Professional practices get cited most. Independent sites take 71.9% of citations for chiropractors, 68.4% for divorce law, 65.1% for personal injury law and 64.5% for dentists. House cleaners come last at 24.4%, with directories (23.3%) and video (17.4%) filling the gap.
- The kind of question changes who gets quoted. On cost searches, directories take 18.4% of citations, their best showing, yet independent sites still take 58.7%. On do-it-yourself and problem searches, national brands and manufacturers take 17.4% and video platforms 12.6%.
How often each kind of search shows an AI Overview
I wrote 10 searches for each industry: one about cost, three about choosing someone to hire, one near me search, one asking what the professional does, and four about a problem or task. Here's how often each kind showed an AI Overview across both countries.
| Kind of search | Searches with an AI Overview | Share | Chart | Citations going to independent sites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | 40 of 40 | 100% | 58.7% | |
| What they do | 39 of 40 | 97.5% | 43.5% | |
| Problem or task | 154 of 160 | 96.2% | 40.7% | |
| Hiring advice | 113 of 120 | 94.2% | 56.1% | |
| Near me | 5 of 40 | 12.5% | too few answers to measure |
Who Google's AI cites on local service searches
I sorted all 2,416 citations (each website counted once per answer) into seven kinds of source. Independent businesses and practitioners are the biggest group in both countries.
| Kind of source | Share of citations | Chart | US | UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent businesses and practitioners | 49% | 45% | 53% | |
| National brands, chains and software firms | 11.5% | 14.9% | 8.1% | |
| Directories, marketplaces and job sites | 10.1% | 8.7% | 11.6% | |
| Government, health bodies, charities and education | 9.6% | 8.4% | 10.8% | |
| Video and social platforms | 9% | 10% | 8% | |
| Publishers and media | 5.8% | 7.3% | 4.2% | |
| Forums and Q&A sites | 5% | 5.7% | 4.2% |
The independent group is everything that isn't a platform, directory, publisher, national brand or public body. When I checked 100 of those citations at random by hand, 72 were local service firms or practitioners: plumbers, roofers, law firms, dental practices, chiropractors, removal companies and so on. The rest were mostly small advice sites, training providers and suppliers.
The 10 most cited websites
These are the sites that appeared in the most AI Overviews, as a share of the 312 answers where the source list loaded.
| Website | Kind of source | Share of AI Overviews citing it |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Video and social | 51% |
| Forums and Q&A sites | 27.2% | |
| Video and social | 13.1% | |
| Quora | Forums and Q&A sites | 7.7% |
| checkatrade.com | Directories | 7.4% |
| Video and social | 4.8% | |
| angi.com | Directories | 3.8% |
| indeed.com | Directories | 3.8% |
| mybuilder.com | Directories | 3.5% |
| google.com | Directories | 3.5% |
Notice what's missing. Apart from YouTube, Reddit and Facebook, no single website appears in more than 1 in 12 answers. The citations are spread across hundreds of different sites, which is exactly why a well written page from a small firm can get in.
Results by industry
Each industry had 10 searches in each country. The last columns show how much of the AI answer's citations went to independent sites in that industry.
| Industry | AI Overviews (US and UK) | US | UK | Citations to independent sites | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiropractors | 17 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 8 of 10 | 71.9% | |
| Divorce law | 17 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 8 of 10 | 68.4% | |
| Personal injury law | 18 of 20 | 8 of 10 | 10 of 10 | 65.1% | |
| Dentists | 18 of 20 | 8 of 10 | 10 of 10 | 64.5% | |
| Wedding photographers | 16 of 20 | 8 of 10 | 8 of 10 | 58.5% | |
| Roofers | 18 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 53.3% | |
| Electricians | 18 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 52.8% | |
| Pest control | 18 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 48.2% | |
| Vets | 19 of 20 | 10 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 47.9% | |
| Plumbers | 18 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 45.8% | |
| Heating and cooling | 17 of 20 | 8 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 45.5% | |
| Movers | 17 of 20 | 8 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 45.2% | |
| Car mechanics | 17 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 8 of 10 | 44.4% | |
| Accountants | 18 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 42.6% | |
| Hair salons | 18 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 42.1% | |
| Landscapers | 18 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 40.7% | |
| Real estate agents | 17 of 20 | 8 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 36.9% | |
| Dog groomers | 17 of 20 | 8 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 36.7% | |
| Personal trainers | 18 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 9 of 10 | 31.8% | |
| House cleaners | 17 of 20 | 9 of 10 | 8 of 10 | 24.4% |
What this means for your business
I've been doing this since 2005, and I've never seen a change land this fast. For almost every question your customers ask before they hire you, Google now answers first. But the data doesn't say you're locked out. It says the opposite: Google's AI quotes small firms all the time, and it quotes plenty of pages that don't even rank on page one.
So here's what I'd do. Write one clear page for each question in the table above that applies to you: what it costs and what changes the price, how to choose someone like you, the questions people should ask, what you do, and the common problems you fix. Answer the question in the first two sentences, then give the detail. Keep your Google Business Profile complete, because near me searches still go to the map. And put your best answers on video too, because YouTube is in half of these AI answers.
If you want help with this, my AI SEO services and answer engine optimization work cover exactly this. You can also see what the AI answer looks like across small business marketing searches in my earlier AI Overviews study, and every study I publish is listed on my research page.
Methodology
- Searches: 400 in total, 10 for each of 20 local service industries in each country. US wording used plumber, electrician, roofer, hvac contractor, dentist, chiropractor, personal injury lawyer, divorce lawyer, accountant, realtor, veterinarian, dog groomer, hair stylist, landscaper, house cleaner, moving company, auto mechanic, pest control company, wedding photographer, personal trainer. UK wording used plumber, electrician, roofer, heating engineer, dentist, chiropractor, personal injury solicitor, divorce solicitor, accountant, estate agent, vet, dog groomer, hairdresser, landscape gardener, house cleaner, removal company, car mechanic, pest control company, wedding photographer, personal trainer. The problem and task searches used local wording too (for example "boiler leaking water" in the UK and "water heater leaking" in the US).
- Results: live Google results pages collected on 7 October 2026 through a commercial search data API, desktop, English, country level location (United States and United Kingdom), first page only. AI Overviews that load after the page were included.
- Citations: the source links inside each AI Overview. In 39 of the 351 AI Overviews the source list didn't load, so citation figures are based on the other 312. Each website counts once per answer.
- Kinds of source: I sorted every cited website by hand into video and social platforms, forums and Q&A sites, directories and marketplaces (including job sites), publishers and media, national brands, chains and software firms, government, health bodies, charities and education, and independent businesses and practitioners (everything else). Then I checked 100 random independent citations by hand to estimate how many are local service firms.
- Ranking overlap: a citation counts as ranking when the same website appears in the top 10 results on the same page.
- Limits: this is one day's snapshot. AI Overviews change between searches and between locations, and a search from a specific town may show different results to a country level search. Treat the figures as a reliable picture of the pattern, not a promise for any single search.
Cite this study
Lilach Bullock (2026). AI Overviews Local Services Study 2026. https://www.lilachbullock.com/ai-overviews-local-services-study/
You're welcome to quote any figure on this page in articles, reports and presentations. Please name the study and link to the page above so readers can see the method.
Frequently asked questions
How often does Google show an AI Overview for local service searches?
In my study of 400 live searches across 20 local service industries in the US and UK, 88% showed an AI Overview. Every cost search had one, while only 5 of 40 near me searches did, because Google still answers those with the map pack.
Do AI Overviews cite small business websites?
Yes. Independent websites earned 49% of all citations in AI Overviews on local service searches, and my hand check suggests local service firms' own sites account for about 35% of everything cited. 90% of AI Overviews cited at least one independent website.
Do you need to rank on page one to be cited in an AI Overview?
No. Only 30.5% of the sources cited in AI Overviews ranked in the top 10 for the same search, and the number one result was cited in 36.5% of AI Overviews. A clear, specific page that answers the question can be cited from further down.
Which website does Google's AI Overview cite most for local services?
YouTube. It appeared in 51% of AI Overviews in this study, followed by Reddit at 27%. In the UK, Checkatrade appeared in 14% of AI Overviews.
Are near me searches affected by AI Overviews?
Much less. Only 12.5% of near me searches showed an AI Overview, and 39 of 40 showed the map pack, so your Google Business Profile still does most of the work there.
Can I use these statistics?
Yes. Please credit Lilach Bullock and link to https://www.lilachbullock.com/ai-overviews-local-services-study/ so your readers can see the method and the full tables.