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Reference · Sourced

Local search statistics, with sources.

Every number links to the page it came from, with the date, the sample and the limits. Mostly US or global data, labelled, because Canadian local-search studies are scarce.

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How to use this page

Each statistic was read on its source page on 23 October 2026. We quote short phrases only and say what a number can and cannot show. Several rows come from the same BrightLocal survey, so they are not independent confirmation of each other. Most review and search data is from US consumers; where Canadian data exists we use it. We found no 2024-or-later Canadian local-review study to cite, and we did not use unverified blog roundups.

None of these numbers says our clients rank in Google or AI tools. They show why accurate profiles, readable websites and genuine reviews matter. See the glossary and our Vancouver and Surrey restaurant website study.

What people do with reviews before they choose.

Reviews

StatisticSource and dateMethod and limits
97% of surveyed US consumers read online reviews for local businesses; 41% say they always do, up from 29% the year before.
“97% of consumers read reviews for local businesses”		BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
Published 2026-02-11; page modified 2026-10-21		Representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers via SurveyMonkey (survey date not stated on page)
Caveat: US-only consumer survey, not Canadian. Published by a local-SEO software vendor, though the method is stated and the research is widely cited. Self-reported behaviour.
89% of surveyed US consumers expect business owners to respond to their reviews; 42% are unlikely to use a business that ignores reviews entirely.
“89% of consumers expect business owners to respond to reviews”		BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
Published 2026-02-11; page modified 2026-10-21		Representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers via SurveyMonkey
Caveat: US-only, self-reported expectation, not observed behaviour. Vendor-published with stated method. Same survey as stat 1 (do not present as independent corroboration).
74% of surveyed US consumers say they only care about reviews written in the last three months (18% are only swayed by reviews written within the last week).
“74% only care about reviews written in the last three months”		BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
Published 2026-02-11; page modified 2026-10-21		Representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers via SurveyMonkey
Caveat: US-only, self-reported. The page also gives 47% will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews, but that is a separate figure; do not merge them. Same survey as stats 1 and 2.
How people search for local businesses.

Local search behaviour

StatisticSource and dateMethod and limits
More than half (52%) of surveyed US consumers started their most recent local business search on Google Search and another 9% on Google Maps; 71% used Google Search at some point in that search, and 75% used more than one channel.
“71% used Google Search at some point during this search”		BrightLocal, Consumer Search Behavior study, part 2 (channels)
Published 2026-07-09; page modified 2026-09-10		Representative panel of 1,227 US-based consumers who had searched online for a local business in the last three months
Caveat: US-only; pre-screened local searchers. Three separate figures from the same page (52%, 9%, 71%, 75%) are reported side by side, not combined. Vendor-published with stated method.
84% of surveyed US consumers searched online for a local business in the past three months, and 75% take less than 30 minutes to decide which business to use (28% decide in under five minutes).
“75% of consumers take less than 30 minutes to decide”		BrightLocal, Consumer Search Behavior study, part 3 (speed)
Published 2026-06-24; page modified 2026-07-09		1,200+ US consumers (page says 1,200+; the sister page in the series gives 1,227 US consumers)
Caveat: US-only, self-reported. The page's decision-speed table varies by how ready to buy the person was; the 75% is the all-respondent figure. Vendor-published.
94% of Canadians went online for personal use in 2022, up from 91% in 2018.
“94% of Canadians going online for personal use in 2022”		Statistics Canada, The Daily: 'Trends in online banking and shopping'
Released 2024-03-21 (data from the 2022 Canadian Internet Use Survey)		Canadian Internet Use Survey, 2022 reference year; sample size not stated on this release page
Caveat: Reference year is 2022, so the data is older than the release date suggests. Measures general internet use, not local search. Official national statistics. I could not find a newer CIUS release (2024) on StatCan when searching.
Where local searches start.

Mobile

StatisticSource and dateMethod and limits
For 73% of surveyed US consumers, their most recent local business search started on a mobile phone (19% computer, 8% tablet).
“for 73% of respondents, this started on mobile”		BrightLocal, Consumer Search Behavior study, part 2 (channels)
Published 2026-07-09; page modified 2026-09-10		Representative panel of 1,227 US-based consumers who had searched online for a local business in the last three months
Caveat: US-only; respondents were pre-screened as having searched for a local business in the last three months. Vendor-published with stated method.
Why a complete profile matters.

Google Business Profile

StatisticSource and dateMethod and limits
Only 35% of small and medium-sized businesses surveyed said they have a Google Business Profile, and only 40% have a dedicated website.
“Only 35% of SMBs have Google Business Profiles.”		BrightLocal, SMB Marketing in 2025
Published 2025-08-07; page modified 2026-08-11		Survey of a panel of US small and medium business owners and managers; the sample size was not found in the page text I read, so no n is given
Caveat: US SMBs only. Vendor-published. Sample size not verified by me, so do not quote n. Do not extrapolate to Canadian SMBs.
Google states that customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable if they find a complete Business Profile, 70% more likely to visit, and 50% more likely to consider purchasing.
“Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable”		Google Business Profile Help, 'Tips to improve your Business Profile' (support.google.com/business/answer/10515606)
No date shown on the page; read 2026-10-23		Not stated on the page
Caveat: Google's own help page, no methodology, sample or date given, so cite it as 'Google says' rather than as an independent study. Global help article, not Canada-specific. Compares complete vs incomplete profiles; does not prove causation.
How AI summaries and assistants are changing clicks and trust.

AI search

StatisticSource and dateMethod and limits
Use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools for local business recommendations rose from 6% of surveyed US consumers the previous year to 45%, making it the third most popular recommendation source in that survey.
“rising from 6% last year to 45%”		BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026
Published 2026-02-11; page modified 2026-10-21		Representative panel of 1,002 US adult consumers via SurveyMonkey
Caveat: US-only, self-reported 'used in the last year', not frequency or share of searches. The jump from 6% to 45% compares two surveys and may partly reflect question wording; treat as direction of travel, not precise. Vendor-published.
In Pew's browsing-data study, Google users who saw an AI summary clicked a traditional result link in 8% of visits, versus 15% of visits without an AI summary; they clicked a link inside the summary in 1% of visits. 18% of the studied searches produced an AI summary.
“clicked on a traditional search result link in 8% of all visits”		Pew Research Center, 'Google users are less likely to click on links when an AI summary appears in the results'
2025-07-22		Browsing activity of 900 US adults (KnowledgePanel Digital) during March 1-31, 2025; dataset of 68,879 unique Google searches
Caveat: US adults, March 2025 only; AI summary prevalence has changed since. All search types, not specific to local-intent queries. Independent non-profit source.
Ahrefs found that for informational keywords, the presence of a Google AI Overview correlates with a 58% lower average click-through rate for the top-ranking page (Dec 2025 data); position-one CTR on AI Overview keywords fell from 0.073 in Dec 2023 to 0.016 in Dec 2025.
“now correlates with a 58% lower average clickthrough rate”		Ahrefs, 'Update: AI Overviews Reduce Clicks by 58%'
Published 2026-02-04; page modified 2026-10-15		300,000 keywords (150,000 with an AI Overview, 150,000 informational without), aggregated Google Search Console desktop CTR, Dec 2023 vs Dec 2025
Caveat: Correlation, not proof of causation. Informational keywords on desktop only; country not stated on the page; not local-intent queries, so do not apply to 'near me' or map-pack searches. Vendor-published but method is clearly stated.
In a Whitespark test of 540 queries, AI Overviews appeared on an average of 68% of local business-type queries, while a local pack appeared on an average of 39%.
“AI Overviews are currently appearing in 68% of local business-type queries”		Whitespark (Canadian local SEO company), 'The Prevalence of AI Overviews in Local Search'
2025-05-12		Manual collection, 540 queries across 3 US cities (Houston, Phoenix, Denver) and 6 industries (plumbers, personal injury lawyers, dentists, optometrists, medical clinics, real estate agents); mix of local, informational and hybrid intent
Caveat: US cities, large metros, and none of the 6 industries is restaurants. Collected May 2025; AI Overview prevalence changes quickly. Page itself says figures may vary for smaller towns. Query mix includes informational and hybrid queries, so it is not the rate for pure 'near me' queries. Vendor-published.
Among surveyed consumers who recently used conversational or voice AI, only 19% trusted AI search tools for local search, versus 45% who trusted traditional search engine results; 68% had used ChatGPT to research local products or services.
“only 19% trust AI search tools versus traditional search engine results (45%)”		Yext press release, 'Yext Report: AI Search Gains Consumer Trust' (The Rise of AI Search Archetypes)
2025-07-22		Online survey by Researchscape for Yext, March 20 to April 6, 2025; 2,237 adults in the US, UK, France and Germany who bought online in the past three months and used voice search or conversational AI; weighted by country population, age and gender
Caveat: Not representative of all consumers: every respondent was already a voice-search or AI user. No Canadian respondents. Vendor-published (Yext sells listings and visibility products) though method is stated. The 68% figure counts only people who had used AI platforms; do not present it as a share of the general population.
Nearly half of Canadians use AI tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot at least weekly, rising to roughly 60-70% among Canadians under 45.
“Nearly half of Canadians use AI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot at least weekly”		Toronto Metropolitan University Diversity Institute, 'AI and Chat Use: Lessons Learned' (Leger survey)
2026 (survey fielded April 14-27, 2026; exact publication date not shown)		Web survey of 1,700 Canadians aged 18+ from Leger's online panel (includes a booster sample of 200 people with an immigration background), in English and French
Caveat: Measures general AI tool use, not use for local business or restaurant discovery. Online panel; the booster sample may affect overall weighting. Academic source; fieldwork was with Leger.
56% of surveyed Canadian consumers already use generative AI tools for shopping tasks, most often product research (33%), personalised recommendations (26%) and finding deals (20%); 87% report lingering concerns.
“56% of respondents already use Gen AI tools for various shopping tasks”		Omnisend press release (survey conducted by Cint)
2025-08-21 (survey fielded July 2025)		1,046 Canadian consumers surveyed by Cint, quotas on age, gender and place of residence; 'nationally representative among users'
Caveat: Vendor-commissioned (Omnisend is an email/SMS marketing platform) and about online shopping, not local or restaurant discovery. The sample is representative 'among users', which may mean online panel users. Use only as a Canadian signal that AI shopping research is mainstream.
Context for Canadian restaurants.

Restaurants and Canada

StatisticSource and dateMethod and limits
Generative AI use among Canadian workers rose from 17% (Sept 2024) to 30% (July 2025), but was lowest in customer-facing, manual industries such as accommodation and food services (5%) and retail trade (9%).
“accommodation and food services (5%)”		Statistics Canada, The Daily: 'Workplace artificial intelligence use: A profile of sociodemographic and job characteristics'
Released 2026-06-17 (data September 2024 to July 2025)		Canadian Survey on Working Conditions; workers aged 15 to 69. Measures whether workers used the technology at work in the previous 12 months
Caveat: Measures staff use of AI at work, NOT consumers using AI to find businesses. Useful only to show restaurant and hospitality operators are low adopters of AI tools themselves. The 5% figure is for the 12-month window ending July 2025, and the 22% overall figure on the page is for the full study period, so do not mix it with the 17% and 30% figures.
Restaurants Canada's 2026 Foodservice Facts report: 80% of Canadians are eating out less often because of the rising cost of living (up from 75% a year earlier), while Canadians still make about 24 million restaurant visits a day; 61% say they would visit table-service restaurants more often with more disposable income.
“Eight in 10 Canadians (80%) are eating out less often”		Restaurants Canada, 2026 Foodservice Facts press release (Cantech Letter / CNW newswire copy; headline also listed on restaurantscanada.org/industry-news)
2026-09-24		Method not stated in the release; the full Foodservice Facts report was not read. Release also gives average pre-tax profit margin of 4.1%
Caveat: I read the newswire copy of the Restaurants Canada release, because the restaurantscanada.org article URL returned 403 to my fetch. It is about demand and affordability, not online discovery, so use it for context on the market, not for search behaviour claims. Method of the consumer figures not given on the page.
In a Toast survey of 1,466 US adults (October 2025), word of mouth was the top way people discovered new restaurants (38%), followed by walking or driving past (30%); social and digital channels were Facebook 27%, Instagram 15%, YouTube 15%, TikTok 14%, with map apps at 18% and search engines at 16%.
“Word of mouth was the top discovery channel at 38%”		PMQ Pizza Magazine, reporting a Toast national restaurant-guest survey
2026-07-04 (survey conducted October 9-15, 2025)		Blind survey of 1,466 US adults, October 9-15, 2025 (as reported by PMQ; the Toast source page returned 403 to me, so I did not read the original)
Caveat: US-only. Second-hand: I read the trade-magazine report, not Toast's own page (blocked). Toast is a restaurant point-of-sale vendor. Multi-select channels, so percentages do not sum to 100. The 'search engines 16%' and 'map apps 18%' figures come from the same article, and I did not see them broken out further.
Keep reading
GlossaryPlain definitions.Restaurant website studyOur own Vancouver and Surrey data.Google Business Profile guideComplete it properly.
FAQ

Questions, answered.

Mostly not. Most come from US or multi-country studies and are labelled as such. Our own local data is in the restaurant website study.

We only include figures we could read on the source page, with a stated date and method, from primary or well-known sources. We leave out roundup blogs and anything we cannot trace.

Cite the original source linked in each row. You are welcome to link to this page as a reference list.

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