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# Half of US consumers now use AI to find local businesses, SOCi finds
- URL: https://www.promptthemarket.com/half-of-us-consumers-use-ai-to-find-local-businesses-soci/
- Published: 2026-10-12T05:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-12T11:06:52.000Z
- Description: A vendor survey of US consumers found two in three AI users got wrong details about a local business. There is no Australian sample, but local cafés and tradies face the same review checks.
- Author: Editor News
- Tags: Research, Marketing, US, SOCi, #author-james-dore

![James Dore](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/01/e4017178-c1da-4131-80aa-35f02cb5b999/content/images/2026/09/james-dore.jpg)

By **James Dore** · 2026-10-11

TLDR

AI use for local business discovery jumped from 9% to 52% of US consumers in a single year, but 67% of those users were given wrong information at least once. Reviews and verified listings now do the trust work: 99% of consumers read reviews before a first visit, and 81% verify an AI recommendation before making contact.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

01AI adoption for local business discovery rose from 9% to 52% of US consumers in one year, per SOCi's 2026 Local Discovery Index.

02Two-thirds of AI users received incorrect information about a local business at least once, and 81% verify before making contact.

03Consumers preferring businesses that respond to reviews rose to 72%, up from 65% in 2025.

04Search still leads discovery at 83%, but AI at 52% now matches social media at 55% as a channel consumers use.

05SOCi surveyed more than 1,000 US consumers only; no Australian sample was included in the research.

More than half of US consumers used an AI tool to find a local business in the past month, up from fewer than one in ten a year earlier, according to a survey by local marketing platform SOCi.[\[1\]](https://www.soci.ai/blog/ai-local-search-verification-loop/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

SOCi's 2026 Local Discovery Index, now in its third year, polled more than 1,000 US consumers and was published on 24 September. The share using AI for local searches rose from 9% in 2025 to 52%.[\[1\]](https://www.soci.ai/blog/ai-local-search-verification-loop/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

Trust hasn't kept pace. Of those AI users, 67% said they had been given wrong information about a local business at least once, and 30% said the mistake caused them a real inconvenience.[\[1\]](https://www.soci.ai/blog/ai-local-search-verification-loop/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

"Usage and trust are moving in opposite directions," SOCi said in its report.[\[1\]](https://www.soci.ai/blog/ai-local-search-verification-loop/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

So most people check. Some 81% take a verification step before contacting a business, most often by reading reviews, and only 19% go straight from an AI recommendation to making contact.[\[1\]](https://www.soci.ai/blog/ai-local-search-verification-loop/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

## Reviews still settle it

Almost every respondent read reviews before a first visit at least some of the time, and 68% always or mostly did.[\[1\]](https://www.soci.ai/blog/ai-local-search-verification-loop/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

The share more likely to choose a business that responds to its reviews rose to 72%, from 65% in 2025.[\[2\]](https://searchengineland.com/ai-usage-surges-6x-for-local-search-fragmenting-the-digital-ecosystem-492614?ref=promptthemarket.com)

Search still leads discovery at 83%, ahead of social media at 55% and AI at 52%.[\[2\]](https://searchengineland.com/ai-usage-surges-6x-for-local-search-fragmenting-the-digital-ecosystem-492614?ref=promptthemarket.com)

"Search remains the anchor," SOCi chief executive Afif Khoury said. "What changed is the width of the journey: consumers now use more channels than in any prior year."[\[3\]](https://www.localogy.com/2026/09/the-verification-loop-how-do-consumers-find-local-businesses-today/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

How US consumers find local businesses, 2026

Search83%

Social media55%

AI tools52%

Share of respondents using each channel for local discovery. Source: SOCi 2026 Local Discovery Index, 1,000+ US consumers.

## No Australian sample

The index surveyed US consumers only, weighted to the US population, so its figures don't carry straight across to Australia.[\[2\]](https://searchengineland.com/ai-usage-surges-6x-for-local-search-fragmenting-the-digital-ecosystem-492614?ref=promptthemarket.com)

The tools are the same here, though. ChatGPT, Gemini and Google's AI answers all recommend local businesses to Australian users, and the checks the survey describes run through Google Business Profiles, reviews and social pages that Australian cafés, tradies, clinics and franchises already manage.

And the cost of a gap is in the data. Among US respondents, 63% said they had walked away from a business that couldn't answer a question they needed answered.[\[1\]](https://www.soci.ai/blog/ai-local-search-verification-loop/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

SOURCES & CITATIONS

1. [SOCi: AI local search and the verification loop (24 September 2026)](https://www.soci.ai/blog/ai-local-search-verification-loop/?ref=promptthemarket.com)
2. [Search Engine Land (sponsored by SOCi): AI usage surges 6x for local search](https://searchengineland.com/ai-usage-surges-6x-for-local-search-fragmenting-the-digital-ecosystem-492614?ref=promptthemarket.com)
3. [Localogy: The verification loop](https://www.localogy.com/2026/09/the-verification-loop-how-do-consumers-find-local-businesses-today/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How much has AI use for local business search grown?

SOCi's 2026 Local Discovery Index found the share of US consumers using an AI tool to find a local business rose from 9% in 2025 to 52% in 2026, a six-fold increase in 12 months.

Why do consumers still verify AI recommendations if they use them to discover businesses?

Because AI tools frequently get details wrong. The same index found 67% of AI users had received incorrect information about a local business at least once, and 81% take a verification step before contacting a business.

Does this research apply to Australian businesses?

SOCi surveyed more than 1,000 US consumers only and no Australian sample was included. The verification behaviours described, however, run through tools Australians also use, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Google reviews and business listings.

![James Dore](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/01/e4017178-c1da-4131-80aa-35f02cb5b999/content/images/2026/09/james-dore.jpg)

[James Dore](https://www.promptthemarket.com/james-dore/)

James Dore is Strategy Director at Bushnote, a leader in SEO and AEO in Australia. He writes on search, AI and the technology decisions shaping government and industry.