Free 16-page playbook · 2027 edition

The AI Search Playbook 2027

How customers now find local businesses on Google, Google Maps, AI Overviews and ChatGPT, and the simple, practical steps that put your name in the answer.

  • How people find you now: the latest figures on Google, Maps and AI search, every one sourced
  • The Google heat map: what it shows, and how to read it in two minutes
  • Google Business Profile: the setup, then a ten-minute weekly habit
  • AI-friendly pages: the layout AI tools find easiest to quote
  • A 30-day checklist you can print and tick off
Cover of The AI Search Playbook 2027, showing a Google Maps heat map
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45%

of consumers used AI tools to find local business recommendations, up from 6% a year earlier.

BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026

31%

used ChatGPT for business recommendations in the last 12 months.

BrightLocal, LCRS 2026 AI report

1bn+

monthly users of Google's AI Mode, now combined with AI Overviews.

Alphabet Q2 2026 earnings, Jul 2026

58%

lower click-through for the top result when an AI Overview appears.

Ahrefs, Feb 2026

What's inside

Short, practical chapters, written for the person who answers the phone.

01

How people find you now

Google, Maps, AI Overviews and ChatGPT, in sourced numbers.

02

Where the answers come from

The six sources Google and AI tools read about your business.

03

The 4 Cs, updated for 2027

Clear, Consistent, Cited and Current: the framework behind every fix.

04

The 5-minute test

Four questions that show who AI names for your service today.

05

The Google heat map

What it shows, the three numbers that matter and four shapes to spot.

06

Google Business Profile

Categories, services, posts, photos and review replies, step by step.

07

AI-friendly pages

Answer first, key takeaways, real numbers, short FAQs and a real author.

08

Technical basics

Let the right bots in, keep key facts in plain text and stay fast.

09

Measuring and the checklist

See AI visits in Google Analytics, then tick off the 30-day checklist.

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See exactly where you appear on Google Maps across your area, street by street, for the search that matters most to you.

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