For local services
For a local business the assistant reads your listings and reviews before your website, if it reads your website at all.
The short answer
For local services, AEO starts outside your site. Assistants answering a local question rely on maps listings, reviews and directories, so consistent business details, review volume, service area and pricing matter more than page-level work.
What ranked on 23 September 2026: Local queries return maps results above almost everything. The agency pages ranking for local AEO advice are, tellingly, national agencies.
Last reviewed · 2 sources
The authoritative record of a local business is not its website. It is a set of listings the owner has not checked in a year.
Claim and reality
Flip a card for what is actually true.
Claim
We need a blog to rank in AI answers.
Claim
We serve the whole region.
Claim
Prices vary, so we cannot publish them.
In order. Tick as you go, or copy the list.
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Questions
Much of the work is the same. The extra step is making price, area and availability exist as text.
Enough to compare with the businesses you lose to. Count theirs.
The listings and reviews, yes, because they also drive ordinary local search. A paid AEO programme usually is not.
Evidence, labelled
Each claim is labelled and sourced. Google rows speak only for Google.
Last reviewed · 2 sources
Business Profile details help local results appear in AI responses.
Confirmed
Google's guide names Business Profiles and Merchant Center feeds. It guarantees nothing.
Local businesses should keep Bing Places current.
Confirmed
Bing recommends Bing Places for Business so address, hours and contact details stay accurate.
Review volume and recency outweigh review text.
Hypothesis
Common local SEO advice. I found no controlled public test for AI answers.
No public source
Go deeper
Next step
Send me your site and what you have tried. I will say which step comes first for you and which you can skip.