AI is reshaping local search. For service businesses, the rules of local visibility are evolving fast. What still works, what doesn't, and where to focus.
A plumber in Waterloo told us something interesting last month: "I used to get 15 calls a week from Google. Now it's 8. But I also get 3-4 people who say they found me through ChatGPT or 'some AI thing.' Those ones always book."
That anecdote captures the local SEO shift perfectly. The volume is changing. The quality is changing. And service businesses that don't adapt risk losing on both fronts.
Local search has always been Google's stronghold. "Plumber near me," "best restaurant Brussels," "dentist Liege" -- these queries drive foot traffic and phone calls. Google Maps, the local pack, Google Business Profile -- the entire local ecosystem was Google's to own.
Now AI is entering the conversation. When someone asks ChatGPT "Which plumber should I call in Waterloo for a bathroom renovation?", the response isn't a map with pins. It's a curated recommendation with reasoning. And unlike Google's local pack, which shows whoever optimized their GBP best, ChatGPT's recommendation depends on reputation, specificity, and presence across multiple sources.
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) remains critical. It's still the primary source for Google's local pack and maps. But its role is evolving.
Google's AI Overview in local searches now pulls information from GBP and synthesizes it. Instead of showing 3 local results, it might say: "Based on reviews and specializations, the top options for bathroom renovation in Waterloo are X, Y, and Z. X specializes in modern design, Y is known for competitive pricing, Z has the highest customer satisfaction ratings."
That means your GBP description, categories, photos, and especially reviews now feed AI-generated summaries. A thin GBP profile with a generic description and 10 reviews will get overlooked in favor of a rich profile with 80+ reviews and specific service descriptions.
LocalBusiness schema is more important than ever. It tells AI exactly what services you offer, where you operate, your hours, your contact info, and your service areas.
Most local businesses don't have any schema markup at all. Those that do often have only the basics. The opportunity here is significant: a complete LocalBusiness schema with Service sub-schemas for each offering gives AI crawlers structured data they can immediately use.
For one of our clients, an accounting firm in Brussels, adding detailed ProfessionalService schema with specific service areas and geographic coverage led to their first Perplexity citation for "best accountant for SRL in Brussels" within 3 weeks.
For local businesses, reviews have always mattered. But in the AI era, they matter in a new way.
LLMs read reviews. Not just the star rating -- the actual text. When a customer writes "Great bathroom renovation, modern design, on time and on budget," that text feeds directly into AI's understanding of what your business does well.
This means the content of your reviews matters more than ever. Encourage customers to be specific in their reviews. "Great plumber" is good. "Renovated our bathroom in 2 weeks, modern design, stayed within our 15K budget" is gold for AI visibility.
Here's what works for local service businesses:
Create location-specific service pages. Not just "Our services" but "Bathroom renovation in Waterloo" and "Kitchen plumbing in Wavre." These specific pages match the specific queries people ask AI.
Publish local case studies. "How we renovated a 1960s bathroom in Uccle for under 12,000 euros." This gives AI specific, local, data-rich content to cite.
Answer local questions on your FAQ page. "How much does a bathroom renovation cost in Brussels?" -- with real numbers from your projects. These FAQs, properly marked up with schema, become AI citation targets.
Be present on local directories and review platforms. Beyond Google: Trustpilot, Pages Jaunes/Gouden Gids, local chamber of commerce directories. Each profile reinforces your local entity in AI systems.
Belgium has a specific advantage: its small size means local businesses can dominate niche queries with relatively modest effort. A plumber who's the clear expert in "renovation salle de bain Brabant wallon" doesn't need to compete with national players. The specificity of the query protects them.
Add Belgium's multilingual context, and the opportunity grows. Businesses that create content in French, Dutch, and English for their local services can capture AI citations across all three language models. Most competitors only cover one language.
Local SEO and AI visibility aren't separate strategies anymore. They're the same strategy, viewed through two lenses. The businesses that align both will dominate their local market. The ones that only optimize for Google will increasingly wonder where their leads went.
Co-fondatrice et CEO d'AISOS. Expert GEO, elle accompagne les entreprises dans leur stratégie de visibilité Google + IA.