Every year, a group of local SEO specialists sits down and argues about what actually moves a Google Business Profile up the map pack. This year, for the first time, they were also asked a second question: does the same thing help you show up in an AI-generated answer?
The answers did not always match, and the gap between them is worth paying attention to.
Where the Data Comes From
Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey collected 47 practitioners’ assessments of 187 factors. These are expert opinions about perceived importance, not Google-published algorithm weights or a controlled test of causal effects. Read the original Whitespark survey.
The survey also asks practitioners to assess AI search visibility. Comparing those scores can suggest areas to investigate, but it does not reveal a universal AI ranking formula.
Where Local SEO and AI Visibility Agree
For local pack results, the highest-scored factors reflect what the surveyed practitioners believe is influential. Treat the list as professional judgment to compare with your own evidence.
Choosing the right primary category for your Google Business Profile
How close your business address is to the person searching
Use the business’s real-world name. Never add keywords to the profile name solely to influence rankings.
Whether your listed address is in the city someone searched
Whether you are open at the time someone is searching
Having strong, recent Google ratings and reviews
Our Ask Maps article explains why accurate profile information helps customers. The survey adds practitioner perspective; it does not prove that a posting frequency or inactivity threshold changes rankings.
Where They Quietly Split
The AI visibility scores differ from the local-pack scores. That is a difference in respondents’ assessments, not confirmation that every AI system gives these factors a particular weight.
Among the factors respondents rated highly for AI visibility were the following. Use them as hypotheses to investigate, not platform-confirmed instructions:
Whether Google's “Popular Times” section currently shows your business as busy
How recently you have uploaded video to your profile, not just photos
How often the owner or manager is actually active on the listing, posting and responding
Respondents assigned citations a different relative score in the AI section. This should not be read as a confirmed change in how Google or another platform weights individual listings.
Some practitioners believe activity and video deserve more attention in AI visibility. Useful, accurate material is a sensible investment, but the survey does not establish that publishing more of it causes an AI citation.
What This Means for Your Business
None of this requires an overhaul. It mostly means being deliberate about a few things that are easy to let slide:
Treat category selection as a relevance decision: choose the categories that accurately describe the business, using Google’s guidance and the available evidence.
Use video when it helps customers see your work, products or location. The survey’s opinions do not justify promising an outsized ranking effect from video recency.
Keep important listings accurate so people encounter consistent business facts. There is no universal, published citation weight across AI search platforms.
Keep hours, services and other business facts current when they change. Publish useful updates for customers rather than chasing a supposed freshness quota.
The survey is a useful collection of practitioner opinions. It is not a controlled experiment, and it cannot isolate causation or publish proprietary ranking weights. Compare its suggestions with official guidance and your own performance data.
Next Step
If you want a clear picture of where your own Google Business Profile stands against factors like these, start with a Free Visibility Snapshot, or look at our AI Search Optimization services if you already know AI visibility is the gap you want to close.
Related reading: Your Google Business Profile Just Got a New Rulebook: What “Ask Maps” Means for Local Search and Google Maps vs. AI Search: How Local Customers Find Businesses in 2026.
