Just a couple of years ago, local SEO was ALL about the local pack and, to a lesser degree, organic rankings. But with the proliferation of generative AI, it's becoming increasingly important to measure your brand's local visibility outside of traditional search results.
One such AI-generated area of Google Search where you should start measuring your brand's visibility is Google AI Overviews, which are already having an impact on local visibility.
While local pack and organic rankings for short-tail, commercial-intent keywords are still the main drivers of local search performance, including website visits, calls, and direction requests, local businesses increasingly appear in AI Overviews for longer, more conversational queries with informational intent.
Google AI Overviews provide additional opportunities for brands to connect with potential customers and set themselves apart from the competition. And that's exactly why Local Falcon launched the first visibility tracking tool for AI Overviews.
How To See If You Appear in AI Overviews
With Local Falcon's local visibility tracking for AI Overviews, finding out if your brand (or your competitors) appears in Google AI Overviews is incredibly easy!
If you're already familiar with using Local Falcon to track your local rankings, the process will feel very familiar. It's just like running a scan to check your Google Business Profile rankings.
All you have to do to use Local Falcon to see if you appear in AI Overviews is choose Google AI Overviews as the data source when you set up a new scan (for the full steps on how to do this, check out our knowledge base article).
Now, the important thing to remember here is that you need to scan for the types of long-tail, conversational search terms that are most likely to trigger an AI Overview in the first place.
For example, if you want to see if your board game and comic book store appears in Google AI Overviews, try scanning for something like "what are the top-rated game and comic book shops near me?" or "which book stores near me sell board games and accessories?" instead of just "comic book store."
It can take some practice to get used to what types of searches trigger AI Overviews in your area, especially since every area and industry is different, so it's a good idea to run a few different baseline scans.
After your scan is done running, you'll see a new Scan Report for Google AI Overviews visibility. These reports look very similar to other Local Falcon reports, with a few key differences that are important to understand.
Introducing Share of AI Voice, a New Metric for Measuring Your AI Visibility
With Local Falcon's launch of AI visibility tracking for Google AI Overviews, we introduced a whole new local SEO metric to help you understand your local AI visibility: Share of AI Voice (SAIV).
Your SAIV score shows how often your brand pops up in AI-generated search summaries for a specific keyword and area. Basically, it tracks how visible you are when AI tools give users quick answers, and only counts summaries that actually mention a brand.
The higher your SAIV score, the more often your brand is showing up in these AI snapshots, which can boost your visibility, relevance, and chances of getting noticed by potential customers.
How AI Overview Rankings Work
Like traditional Scan Reports, your reports for Google AI Overviews visibility also contain ranking scores, and the data points on the geo-grid are color-coded and numbered according to your brand's rank at that point on the map.
However, because of the nature of AI Overviews, it's important to understand that these "rankings" work a little differently to traditional local search rankings.
Whereas appearing in a local pack on Google Search or on Google Maps earns your business a spot in a clearly ranked list of businesses, appearing in AI Overviews nets you a conversational mention in a paragraph of text. Your Google AI Overview ranking corresponds to where your brand was mentioned sequentially in the AI-generated summary.
For instance, if the summary mentions three businesses, and yours was the second mentioned, your Google AI Overview ranking at that specific point would be "2." Your Average Rank Position (ARP) and Average Total Rank Position (ATRP) scores are based on what position your business is mentioned in on average across all AI Overviews for the scanned area.
Google AI Overview Source Information
The source information section shows you which web pages Google's AI pulled from to build its AI Overviews in that grid. Checking out these sources gives you a better idea of where the summary came from and what kind of content influenced it.
A lot of the time, these sources include places like Yelp, forums, or industry directories, all of which are spots where you can either update your info or contribute content to try and optimize for Google AI Overviews.
While we're still figuring out exactly why Google picks certain sources, seeing what shows up can help you spot new chances to get your brand into the mix.
Can You Optimize for Google AI Overviews?
Even though we don't know exactly how Google's AI decides which businesses to include in its summaries, there are definitely steps you can take to improve your chances.
Start by taking a close look at the sources Google's AI is pulling from in your Local Falcon AI visibility scan. If you see sites like Yelp, Reddit, or niche directories in your industry, those are great places to focus your efforts.
Make sure your business information across directory-type sources is accurate, complete, and compelling.
Wherever possible, look for ways to contribute helpful content to platforms. For example, you might answer common questions on Reddit and name-dropping your brand or even just update your business descriptions on directories to be more complete and detailed.
Google seems more likely to feature your brand in AI Overviews if it can draw comprehensive information from a variety of reputable sources.
Beyond that, many of the same strategies that help with traditional local SEO can also help you appear in AI Overviews. Things like building citations, getting reviews, and publishing high-quality, locally relevant content on your website still matter!
Google's AI is ultimately trying to surface the most helpful, trustworthy information, so the more you can show that your brand is active, authoritative, and well-regarded in your local area, the more likely you are to earn a spot in those summaries.
Do Google AI Overviews Really Matter for Local Search?
While Google AI Overviews tend to show up more often for informational, research-style searches rather than commercial-intent, action-oriented ones, that doesn't mean they're not important.
Even if someone isn't ready to call, click, or visit right away, showing up in AI-generated summaries can still go a long way in boosting your brand recognition. And in the AI era, brand recognition is becoming more critical than ever.
The more often people see your business mentioned as a trusted source, especially in those early, top-of-funnel searches, the more likely they are to remember and choose you when they are ready to take action. It builds familiarity, authority, and trust, which can influence future behavior even if it doesn't drive a direct conversion immediately.
Wrapping Up
As Google continues to integrate AI more deeply within its search ecosystem, measuring your visibility in AI Overviews will be essential for gaining a comprehensive understanding of your overall local search performance. The brands that adapt early will have a clear advantage in building recognition and trust in this new, increasingly AI-driven local search environment!
With Local Falcon, you can go beyond traditional rank tracking to understand exactly where your brand is showing up in AI-generated content, gaining valuable insights that you can use to take actionable steps to improve your AI visibility.
