AI Overviews vs. the Local Pack: Which Reviews Win?

Imagine you're searching for a plumber in Houston at 2 a.m. because your water heater just died. You pull out your phone, type “emergency plumber near me,” and hit search. What do you see? A map with three businesses? Or a paragraph of AI-generated text summarizing your options? The answer determines where you should be spending your reputation-building budget.

We've been doing local SEO for over a decade, and the ground is shifting. Google AI Overviews now appear in an average of 68% of local business-type queries (Whitespark). Yet the classic Local Pack still shows up for over 90% of local-intent searches (SE Ranking). So which one deserves your attention? We're going to compare two strategies: optimizing for the Local Pack versus optimizing for AI Overviews, and we'll tell you which one wins for most local businesses.

The Contenders: Local Pack Optimization vs. AI Overview Optimization

The Local Pack is that block of three Google Business Profile listings with a map. It's been the holy grail of local SEO for years, and it still captures over 44% of clicks on local search pages (SE Ranking). To win there, you need to nail relevance, distance, and prominence—and reviews are a big part of prominence.

AI Overviews, on the other hand, are the AI-generated answers that appear at the top of Google search results. They pull from across the web—not just your Google Business Profile. Whitespark found that in hybrid-intent plumber searches in Houston, AI Overviews cited third-party sites like Yelp and Thumbtack 60% of the time (Whitespark). So if you're not getting mentioned on those platforms, you're invisible to the AI.

These two approaches aren't mutually exclusive, but they demand different review strategies. Let's break it down.

How Reviews Influence the Local Pack

Reviews have always been the second most important factor for Local Pack rankings, right behind your Google Business Profile itself (SE Ranking). Volume and recency matter more than average star rating—so a 4.2-star business with 50 recent reviews can outrank a 4.8-star business with five reviews.

And consumers have made up their minds about how many reviews matter. 47% of consumers won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews (BrightLocal). Only 9% will consider a business with five or fewer. So if you're a new plumber with ten reviews, you're already losing customers.

But it's not just about quantity. Review recency is huge: 74% of consumers look for reviews from the last three months (BrightLocal). And 89% expect owners to respond to reviews (BrightLocal). If you're not actively generating fresh reviews and responding to them, your Local Pack presence will suffer.

How Reviews Influence AI Overviews

AI Overviews don't care about your Google Business Profile as much as they care about what the entire internet says about you. The AI pulls from unstructured citations—mentions on blogs, news sites, podcasts, and social media (Whitespark). If a food blogger raves about your taco truck, that might show up in an AI Overview.

But here's the thing: reviews themselves are often the content that AI cites. When Whitespark studied 540 queries, they found that AI Overviews appeared in 68% of local business-type queries, but the Local Pack only appeared in 39% (Whitespark). That means AI is increasingly the first thing users see.

So what does that mean for reviews? Positive reviews on third-party platforms like Yelp, TripAdvisor, or even industry-specific sites can be picked up by AI. And since only 1% of consumers start their local search on social media (Whitespark), you need to be visible where the AI is looking.

Head-to-Head Comparison

Which One Wins and When

For most local businesses, we argue that Local Pack optimization should still be your primary focus—but you can't ignore AI Overviews. Here's why: The Local Pack appears in over 90% of local-intent searches (Whitespark). Those are the searches that lead to store visits and calls. 78% of people who search for something nearby on their phones visit the business within a day (Google). That's the money-making traffic.

AI Overviews, on the other hand, appear in 92% of informational queries (Whitespark) like “how long does an eye exam take near me?” Those users aren't ready to buy yet. They're researching. If you're not in that answer, you lose the chance to be considered later.

So here's our recommendation: Start with Local Pack fundamentals. Ensure your Google Business Profile is complete—businesses with complete profiles are 70% more likely to be visited (Ahrefs). Generate a steady stream of Google reviews. Respond to every single one.

Then, layer on AI visibility. Get mentioned in local blogs, sponsor a community event, and ask customers to leave reviews on Yelp or other platforms. The best part? These efforts reinforce each other. More citations and mentions help your Local Pack rankings too (BrightLocal).

Let's make it concrete. Say you're a dentist in Phoenix. On a typical day, you might get 20 searches for “dentist near me” (local intent) and 10 for “average cost of dental implants in Phoenix” (hybrid intent). For the first type, you need to win the Local Pack. For the second, you need to be mentioned in an AI Overview. If you focus only on Google reviews, you'll win the first but lose the second. If you focus only on getting blog mentions, you'll win the second but lose the first.

The bottom line? Reviews still matter—but where they matter is shifting. Don't put all your eggs in Google's basket.

The Single Most Important Thing to Remember

Reviews influence both the Local Pack and AI Overviews, but the sources differ. To win in 2026, you need a steady stream of Google reviews for the Local Pack, and a growing set of third-party mentions for AI. Start with Google reviews, then expand outward. Your future customers are watching—wherever they search.

Sources

• Whitespark AI Overviews in Local Search - https://whitespark.ca/blog/case-study-the-prevalence-of-ai-overviews-in-local-search/
• BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey - https://www.brightlocal.com/resources/local-consumer-review-survey/
• SE Ranking - https://seranking.com/blog/google-local-pack/
• Ahrefs Local SEO Guide - https://ahrefs.com/blog/local-seo/
• Whitespark Guide to Unstructured Citations for AI Visibility - https://whitespark.ca/guides/whitesparks-guide-to-unstructured-citations-for-ai-visibility/