Last checked: October 26, 2026. We review this page each quarter.
This page collects sourced statistics on how customers find, judge and contact local service businesses: Google Search and Maps, Local Services Ads, AI search, reviews, phone calls and Meta. Each figure is quoted word for word from its primary source, with who was measured and when.
Every section ends with a practical step you can take on your own ads and listings.
Key statistics at a glance
- “the proportion of consumers using AI to find local business recommendations has climbed from 6% in 2025 to 45% today” (BrightLocal, 2026)
- “47% of consumers won’t use a business that has fewer than 20 reviews” (BrightLocal, 2026)
- “Users who encountered an AI summary clicked on a traditional search result link in 8% of all visits.” (Pew Research Center, March 2025 browsing data, all Google searches)
- “44% now prefer calling a business for help, up from 32% in 2022” (Invoca, a call tracking company; Sago survey, 2025)
- “97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses” (BrightLocal, 2026)
How customers look for local businesses
Customers rarely check one place before they hire. They compare a business across several sites, and Google is the biggest of them but not the only one.
“With consumers using an average of six review sites in 2026, relying only on the major review sites is no longer enough.”
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (Feb 11, 2026). BrightLocal survey of 1,002 US adults, 2026.
“Google has always been the standout source for reviews, but this year its share has dipped from 83% in 2025 to 71%.”
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (Feb 11, 2026). Share of surveyed consumers who used Google for reviews: 71% in 2026, down from 83% in 2025. This is a usage figure, not market share. BrightLocal survey of 1,002 US adults.
What to do with this: Search your business name and your main service plus your town, then list every site that shows up on the first page. Those are the places your ads and listings get compared. Fix the name, phone, hours and service area on each one so a customer sees the same business everywhere.
Reviews and reputation
Reviews sit next to almost every ad and listing a local customer sees. They often decide whether a click turns into a call.
“97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses”
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (Feb 11, 2026). BrightLocal survey of 1,002 US adults, 2026.
“47% of consumers won’t use a business that has fewer than 20 reviews”
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (Feb 11, 2026). BrightLocal survey of 1,002 US adults, 2026.
“74% only care about reviews written in the last three months”
BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (Feb 11, 2026). BrightLocal survey of 1,002 US adults, 2026.
What to do with this: Count your Google reviews and check the date of the newest one. If you have fewer than 20, or nothing from the last three months, make a review request part of closing every job: send the link by text the same day, while the work is fresh. Recent reviews make every ad and listing that shows your rating work harder.
Google Maps and Business Profiles
On many local service searches, the map and Business Profiles show near the top of the page, alongside the ads.
“That includes the latest product to surpass the 2 billion user milestone, Google Maps.”
Google, Alphabet Q3 2024 earnings call: CEO Sundar Pichai's remarks (Oct 29, 2024). More than 2 billion monthly users, as of October 2024, according to Google.
“To build your itinerary, Maps analyzes information from over 300 million places, including reviews from our community of more than 500 million contributors.”
Google, Ask Maps and Immersive Navigation: New AI features in Google Maps (Mar 12, 2026). Google's own figures, 2026.
What to do with this: Open your Google Business Profile and fill every field that applies: primary and secondary categories, services, service area, hours, photos of real jobs and answers to common questions. Maps draws on this information and on reviews to decide what to show, so a complete profile gives Google more to work with when it ranks and summarizes your business.
AI Overviews and AI Mode in Google Search
Google now answers many searches with an AI summary before the regular results. That changes how many people scroll down to the ads and listings below it.
“Users who encountered an AI summary clicked on a traditional search result link in 8% of all visits. Those who did not encounter an AI summary clicked on a search result nearly twice as often (15% of visits).”
Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results (Jul 22, 2025). Pew Research Center browsing data from 900 US adults, March 2025. Covers all Google searches in the study (68,879), not only local ones.
“Since expanding AI Mode globally last October, we’ve surpassed 1 billion monthly active users.”
Google, Alphabet earnings call Q2 2026: Sundar Pichai remarks (Jul 22, 2026). Google's own figure, July 2026.
What to do with this: Search your top five money keywords on your phone and note what appears first: an AI summary, ads, the map or regular results. Note whether the ads and the map still show near the top on those searches, and plan your ad budget and profile work around what you find.
AI assistants and local recommendations
A growing share of customers ask an AI tool which local business to use. Those tools pull from reviews, listings and websites across the web.
“Local Consumer Review Survey data finds that the proportion of consumers using AI to find local business recommendations has climbed from 6% in 2025 to 45% today.”
BrightLocal, Half of consumers are asking AI for business recommendations (Mar 10, 2026). BrightLocal survey of 1,002 US adults, 2026.
“Most AI users are careful to fact-check sources, with 88% of AI users checking to see if a review is legitimate (51%) or to see the source (37%).”
BrightLocal, Half of consumers are asking AI for business recommendations (Mar 10, 2026). Among the 455 surveyed consumers who used AI tools for local business recommendations in the past 12 months, not all consumers. BrightLocal, 2026.
“ChatGPT is the clear frontrunner among consumers, being used by 31% for business recommendations in the last 12 months. Following behind is Google’s AI Mode (23%)”
BrightLocal, Half of consumers are asking AI for business recommendations (Mar 10, 2026). BrightLocal survey of 1,002 US adults, 2026.
What to do with this: Ask ChatGPT and Google AI Mode to recommend a business like yours in your town. Note which businesses they name and which sites they cite. Then make sure your details and reviews are accurate on those same sites, since customers who use AI check the sources it points to.
Clicks Geek manages Google Ads and Local Services Ads for local service businesses, including the conversion tracking covered on this page.
Google Ads and paid search
Google keeps adding automation to Search campaigns. The figures below are Google's own claims about its products, so treat them as a starting point to test, not a promise for any one account.
“The data already shows that advertisers that activate AI Max in Search campaigns will typically see 14% more conversions or conversion value at a similar CPA/ROAS. For campaigns that are still mostly using exact and phrase keywords, the typical uplift is even higher at 27%.”
Google, Introducing AI Max for Search campaigns (May 6, 2025). According to Google's internal data (2025, non-retail advertisers). Not specific to local businesses.
What to do with this: Before you switch on any new automated feature, make sure conversion tracking counts real leads: calls of a set length, form fills and booked jobs, not page views. Automation optimizes toward whatever you count, so clean tracking decides whether a feature like AI Max finds more customers or more junk. For cost per lead figures by industry, see our cost per lead benchmarks.
Local Services Ads
Local Services Ads are Google's pay-per-lead ads for verified service businesses. Two recent changes affect every advertiser using them.
“The first phase of the migration begins for select home and storefront service advertisers in the United States (including plumbing, HVAC, electrical, appliance repair, house cleaning, lawn care, roofing, pest control, and moving).”
Google Ads Help, Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals (checked Oct 26, 2026). Google's timeline for moving Local Services Ads into Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals: August 2026 for the first phase, late 2026 for broader groups including service-area businesses, and 2027 for non-US accounts and remaining categories.
“Google Verified will replace other LSA badges and programs, like Google Guaranteed, Google Screened, License Verified by Google and the Money Back Guarantee.”
Google, Google Verified makes it easier to find trusted local businesses advertising on Google (Aug 20, 2025). Google announcement, August 2025.
What to do with this: If you run Local Services Ads, check which migration phase your category falls in and confirm your verification is current under Google Verified. Before your account moves, write down your current lead volume, lead types and how many leads you dispute, so you can compare results after the switch.
Phone calls and lead handling
An ad or listing only pays off if someone answers when the customer reaches out. For bigger purchases, many customers still want to talk to a person.
“84% of respondents say human connection is important during high-stakes purchases, and 44% now prefer calling a business for help, up from 32% in 2022”
Invoca, Invoca Study Reveals Consumers Embrace AI, but Reject Replacing Humans, in the Buying Experience (Jul 24, 2025). Invoca, a call tracking company; Sago survey of 1,000 US and UK consumers who made high-stakes purchases, 2025. Not a survey of local service businesses or their customers.
“67% of consumers called a business during their buying journey, and calling is the #1 preferred channel when consumers need help with their purchase.”
Invoca, Invoca Study Reveals Consumers Embrace AI, but Reject Replacing Humans, in the Buying Experience (Jul 24, 2025). Invoca, a call tracking company; Sago survey of 1,000 US and UK consumers who made high-stakes purchases, 2025.
What to do with this: Track every call your ads and listings produce and look at how many went unanswered last month, broken out by hour. If calls are missed during jobs or after hours, set a plan for who answers them, and follow up on every missed call the same day.
Facebook and Meta
Facebook still reaches most US adults, which makes it a place to stay in front of local customers before they need you.
Facebook: 70% of US adults say they ever use it (YouTube 84%, Instagram 51%). By age: 69% of ages 18 to 29, 78% of ages 30 to 49, 71% of ages 50 to 64 and 59% of ages 65 and older.
Pew Research Center, Social Media Fact Sheet (Oct 19, 2026). Pew Research Center survey of 5,511 US adults, Jan. 30 to June 18, 2026. Values from Pew's charts.
“DAP was 3.60 billion on average for June 2026, an increase of 3% year-over-year.”
Meta, Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results (Jul 29, 2026). Daily active people across all Meta apps (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp), not Facebook alone. Meta's own figure.
What to do with this: Use Facebook to reach homeowners in your service area before they search: before-and-after photos of real jobs, seasonal reminders and offers tied to the work you do most. Send those ads to a page that matches the ad and makes it easy to contact you, and track which ones produce actual leads.
Mobile
Nearly every US adult carries a phone, and that is where many customers first see your ads and listings.
“The vast majority of U.S. adults (98%) own a cellphone of some kind. About nine-in-ten (91%) own a smartphone”
Pew Research Center, Mobile Fact Sheet (Oct 19, 2026). Pew Research Center survey, Jan. 30 to June 18, 2026.
What to do with this: Open your own ads and landing pages on a phone. Check that the phone number is tap to call, the form fits on the screen without zooming, and the page loads quickly on mobile data. With nine in ten US adults owning a smartphone, the phone version is the one to get right.
The local service market
Two government and university figures show how crowded the small business market is and where home repair demand is heading.
“There are 36,207,130 small businesses in the U.S.”
U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, February 2026 (Feb 2026). Based on 2022 Census data, all industries. Most of these firms (82.3%) have no employees.
“Year-over-year growth in renovation and repair spending is expected to reach just 1.5 percent by the third quarter.”
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Remodeling Spending Continues to Stagnate (LIRA) (Oct 22, 2026). Home remodeling and repair spending only, by Q3 2027.
What to do with this: With remodeling and repair spending expected to stay close to flat, growth has to come from winning a bigger share of the same jobs. That puts more weight on where your ads and listings show up, how your reviews compare and how quickly you respond.
Find out which of these channels will bring you the most calls
These numbers show where local customers look before they pick a provider. They can't tell you which channel will work best in your market, for your services and your area. Clicks Geek runs Google Ads, Local Services Ads, Facebook ads and Google Business Profile management for local service businesses. Tell us about your business and we'll show you which channel to start with and what it should bring in.
Our marketing services for local businesses cover the channels on this page.
How we sourced this
We used primary sources only (platform announcements, research organizations, government data and original surveys) and linked each one. We left out statistics roundups and anything we could not find on the original page. Figures from platforms or vendors about their own products are labeled as such.
Citing this page: you are welcome to use these statistics. Please credit the original source listed next to each figure, and link to this page if it helped you find it.
Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, Feb 11, 2026.
- BrightLocal, Half of consumers are asking AI for business recommendations, Mar 10, 2026.
- Google, Alphabet Q3 2024 earnings call: CEO Sundar Pichai's remarks, Oct 29, 2024.
- Google, Ask Maps and Immersive Navigation: New AI features in Google Maps, Mar 12, 2026.
- Pew Research Center, Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results, Jul 22, 2025.
- Google, Alphabet earnings call Q2 2026: Sundar Pichai remarks, Jul 22, 2026.
- Google, Introducing AI Max for Search campaigns, May 6, 2025.
- Google Ads Help, Local Services Ads transition to Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, checked Oct 26, 2026.
- Google, Google Verified makes it easier to find trusted local businesses advertising on Google, Aug 20, 2025.
- Invoca, Invoca Study Reveals Consumers Embrace AI, but Reject Replacing Humans, in the Buying Experience, Jul 24, 2025.
- Pew Research Center, Social Media Fact Sheet, Oct 19, 2026.
- Meta, Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results, Jul 29, 2026.
- Pew Research Center, Mobile Fact Sheet, Oct 19, 2026.
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, February 2026, Feb 2026.
- Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Remodeling Spending Continues to Stagnate (LIRA), Oct 22, 2026.
