Google Business Profile Still Matters in the AI Search Era

There's a lot of noise right now about AI search killing traditional SEO. And honestly, some of that noise is worth paying attention to. But one thing I keep seeing overlooked in those conversations is how central Google Business Profile still is, not just for Google rankings, but for how AI tools surface local business information.According to Moz's Local Search Ranking Factors, Google Business Profile signals are the number one factor for local pack rankings. That was true before AI search took off, and it's still true now. The businesses we work with across BC and Alberta that have strong, well-maintained profiles are the ones showing up in both traditional and AI-generated results. The ones who neglected their profile are the ones asking us why they've gone quiet.

Most business owners assume AI search tools are pulling from some mysterious deep web of content. The reality is much more grounded than that. Google's AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries appearing at the top of many search results pages, lean heavily on structured, verified data. And your Google Business Profile is one of the most verified data sources Google has access to.The mistake most small businesses make is treating GBP as a one-time setup task rather than a living piece of their marketing. They claim the profile, fill in the basics, and forget about it. Meanwhile, AI systems are looking for recency signals, review activity, photo freshness, and post frequency when deciding which businesses to feature.What AI Tools Are Actually ReadingAccording to Search Engine Land, Google processes more than 8.5 billion searches per day. A growing portion of those queries now trigger AI-generated responses. What many people don't realize is that Google's AI is not writing those responses from scratch. It's synthesizing structured information, and GBP is a primary structured source for any query with local intent.According to Think With Google, 46% of all Google searches have local intent. That's a massive share of traffic where your GBP data is directly influencing what gets shown, whether the result is a traditional local pack, an AI Overview, or a response inside a conversational AI tool that indexes the web.The Practitioner RealityIn our experience working with service businesses across BC and Alberta, the gap between an optimized GBP and a neglected one has widened since AI features rolled out more broadly in 2025. When we audited profiles for clients like those in Calgary's trades and wellness sectors, we found that the businesses appearing in AI-generated local summaries almost always had complete profiles with regular posts and recent reviews. The ones absent from those summaries had profiles that hadn't been touched in over a year. That correlation is not subtle.It's also worth noting that AI search tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT's browsing mode pull from public business directories and web content. Your GBP data often feeds those directories indirectly. A strong profile creates a data ripple that reaches further than Google alone.

For small businesses in British Columbia and Alberta, the shift toward AI search isn't a distant threat. It's already reshaping which businesses get found when someone asks their phone or browser a local question. The good news is that the fundamentals haven't changed nearly as much as the headlines suggest.According to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, 98% of all businesses in Canada are small businesses. Most of them are competing locally, which means the local search landscape, including AI-assisted local search, is where the real competition plays out. And right now, most of them are not optimizing for it.The Local Opportunity WindowWe've seen this play out with clients in sectors like mortgage advising, health and wellness, and contracting. When we helped Amanda Crowe Mortgages build out their online presence with proper local SEO foundations, including a clean, optimized GBP, their Google Search Console impressions grew by 1,715% over six months. That result wasn't just about rankings. It was about making sure every data signal Google could see was consistent, complete, and credible.What surprised us was how much of that lift came from basic hygiene work that most competitors simply hadn't done: accurate categories, a full service list, regular photo uploads, and responding to every review. These are not technical tasks. They're just consistent habits that most busy business owners deprioritize.How AI Search Changes the Local StakesHere's the practitioner insight most consultants won't tell you: AI Overviews tend to favour businesses that look authoritative across multiple signals simultaneously. A great website with a neglected GBP is weaker than a decent website with an excellent GBP. The AI is trying to triangulate trust from multiple sources. If your GBP is sending weak signals, your otherwise decent SEO can get undermined.For Calgary lawn care companies, Vancouver Island contractors, or Burnaby-based health practitioners, this means the businesses that stay consistent with their GBP maintenance through 2026 will pull ahead of the ones waiting to see how AI search settles. It rarely pays to wait on the basics.

If I were starting fresh with a local business profile today, knowing what I know about how AI search is evolving, I'd approach Google Business Profile less like a directory listing and more like a content channel. The businesses winning in local AI search are the ones treating GBP as a weekly touchpoint, not a set-it-and-forget-it task.The Specific Changes I'd MakeFirst, I'd get granular with categories. Most businesses pick one primary category and stop there. Google allows multiple secondary categories, and choosing the right ones directly affects which query types trigger your listing. For a physiotherapy clinic in Edmonton, the difference between appearing for "sports injury treatment" versus just "physiotherapist" often comes down to secondary category selections.Second, I'd treat the Q&A section as an SEO asset. Most business owners don't know they can post their own questions and answers on their GBP listing. Writing five to ten well-phrased Q&As using the language your customers actually search, including service names, neighbourhood names, and common concerns, feeds Google exactly the kind of structured text it wants to surface in AI-generated summaries.Third, I'd build a review response habit. According to BrightLocal's Local Consumer Review Survey, 98% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. Responding to reviews, especially with natural language that includes your service and location, creates keyword-rich text directly on your GBP profile. That text is indexed and it matters.What I'd Stop DoingI'd stop obsessing over getting hundreds of reviews fast. A slow, steady drip of genuine reviews over time looks far more natural to Google's systems than a burst of ten reviews in one week followed by silence for three months. Consistency beats volume.If you're not sure where your GBP stands right now, our SEO service includes a full local presence audit. For businesses in Calgary, our Calgary web design and SEO work is built around exactly this kind of local visibility foundation. And if you're on Vancouver Island, we've done this work there too through our Vancouver Island web design projects. The tactics are the same. The results speak for themselves.

AI search is real, it's here, and it's changing how local businesses get discovered. But the businesses that stay visible through this shift are the ones that have their fundamentals locked in, and Google Business Profile is the most important fundamental of all. It feeds Google's AI, it feeds third-party AI tools, and it feeds the trust signals that turn a searcher into a customer.If you're not sure whether your GBP is working as hard as it should be, we're happy to take a look. Get in touch with the WavePoint team and we'll tell you exactly where you stand.