Google’s new AI Mode is showing us something important.
When it answers local “who should I call” questions, it’s not pulling from websites. It’s not pulling from ads.
It’s pulling almost entirely from Google Business Profiles.
We’ve tested this repeatedly—plumbers, roofers, dentists, HVAC companies, personal injury lawyers. The result is the same every time. The answers come from the map pack. From verified local businesses. From GBP data.
That’s not a coincidence. It’s a signal.
For years, most businesses have been trained to obsess over websites—ranking blog posts, service pages, backlinks, position one organic results. Thousands spent trying to climb a list that fewer people actually click.
All while the Google Business Profile quietly generates the majority of real leads.
Now Google is reinforcing that behavior.
AI Mode is built to rely on the data Google trusts most. And the data Google trusts most is the data it controls.
Your Google Business Profile
From Google’s point of view, this makes perfect sense. They already have your verified location, your phone number, your hours, your services. They have real customer reviews. Photos of actual work. Ongoing activity tied directly to your business.
Why send someone to a third-party website when the answers are already there?
They don’t—and increasingly, they won’t.
We asked Google’s AI Mode directly what prevents a local business from appearing in its results. The answer was straightforward: review volume, profile optimization, ongoing activity, photos, and responses to reviews.
No mention of blog content. No mention of backlinks.
That should change how businesses think about where effort goes.
If you’re spending five thousand a month on website SEO and a few hundred on your Google Business Profile, the priorities are inverted.
The profile is the performance asset.
The website’s role is secondary—to support trust and convert people who want more context before they call.
Local visibility is no longer about ranking pages.
It’s about being clearly understood, trusted, and active where decisions actually happen.
