How to Rank for 'Near Me' in AI Overviews: Local Visibility Tips

Consumers now search differently. They're not asking "where can I find" anymore, they're simply typing "near me" and expecting instant answers. With mobile "near me" searches growing 136% year-over-year and "open now near me" queries jumping 400%, local businesses can't afford to ignore this shift.

But here's the challenge: Google's AI Overviews are changing the game. These AI-generated responses now appear at the top of search results, answering user questions directly, often without sending traffic to your website. For local businesses, this creates both opportunity and risk. Optimise correctly, and you'll appear in these powerful AI snapshots. Miss the mark, and your competitors will claim that visibility instead.

This guide breaks down how to rank for "near me" searches in the age of AI Overviews, with practical strategies to help your business stand out in local search.

Why 'Near Me' Searches Matter More Than Ever

Around 83% of consumers still use search engines like Google to find local businesses, and 8 in 10 search for local options at least once a week. Mobile devices drive much of this behaviour, but AI assistants like ChatGPT and Gemini are quickly joining the mix.

What's changed is how people search. Instead of branded queries like "Starbucks Melbourne CBD," 42% of consumers now use generic, unbranded terms such as "coffee near me." This shift means businesses must optimise not just for their name, but for the category they serve.

The stakes are high. Businesses that rank in Google's local 3-pack earn 126% more traffic and 93% more actions than those ranked below. And with over 60% of high-intent local queries now resolving as zero-click searches, meaning users get their answer directly from AI-generated responses, your visibility in AI Overviews can make or break your local performance.

How Google Ranks Local Businesses

Google evaluates local businesses based on three core factors: relevance, distance, and prominence. Understanding these helps you optimise strategically.

Relevance measures how well your Google Business Profile matches what users are searching for. Completing every section of your profile, business category, services, attributes, hours, signals to Google that you're a strong match. Using relevant local keywords naturally in your business description also helps.

Distance considers how far your business is from the user's location. When someone searches "near me," Google calculates distance based on their device location. You can't change where you're physically located, but you can target specific service areas and neighbourhoods in your content to capture nearby searchers.

Prominence reflects how well-known your business is, both online and offline. Google looks at review counts, star ratings, links from other websites, and social media presence. Maintaining consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information across all directories and platforms strengthens your prominence signal.

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How AI Overviews Are Transforming Local Search

AI Overviews use Google's custom Gemini model to aggregate information from multiple sources and synthesize it into a single, comprehensive answer. For local businesses, this means your Google Business Profile, website content, reviews, and structured data all feed into how AI presents your business.

The impact is significant. Many local businesses report 20-40% decreases in organic website traffic as customers get answers directly from AI-generated responses. Traditional local SEO focused on ranking high in organic results, but now you need to optimise for appearing within the AI-generated answers themselves.

There are three types of AI Overviews you should understand:

Duplicate snapshots closely mirror traditional local pack results, showing the top three businesses with basic information like ratings, address, and hours. These present the lowest traffic risk because they still encourage clicks.

Complementary snapshots provide partial answers to service-based queries, presenting business summaries with contact details but requiring users to dig deeper for specific information. These carry moderate traffic risk.

Accelerator snapshots fulfill high-commercial-intent queries end-to-end, potentially including pricing, real-time availability, and direct booking links. These present the highest traffic risk because they can complete transactions without users ever visiting your website.

Optimising Your Business for AI Overviews

Success in AI-powered local search requires expanding traditional SEO tactics to address how AI engines extract and present business information.

Complete Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile becomes even more critical in the AI era. Update your business description using natural language that answers common customer questions. Instead of keyword-stuffed descriptions, write conversationally. For example, instead of "Melbourne coffee shop specialty coffee organic beans," try "We're a Melbourne coffee shop specialising in organic, single-origin beans roasted fresh daily."

Fill out every available field: services, attributes, hours, photos, and posts. The more complete your profile, the more data AI has to work with when deciding whether to include you in an Overview.

Implement Structured Data Markup

AI engines rely heavily on structured data to understand and extract business information accurately. Implement LocalBusiness, Organization, FAQ, and QAPage schemas using JSON-LD format on your website.

This markup helps AI engines identify key information like your business hours, services, pricing, and frequently asked questions, making it more likely they'll pull this data into AI Overviews.

Create Conversational Content

AI engines prioritise immediate, clear answers over lengthy explanations buried deep in content. Create conversational content that directly answers customer questions within the first 100 words of each page.

Structure your content around common questions: "What are your opening hours?" "Do you offer same-day service?" "What areas do you serve?" Answer these clearly and concisely at the top of relevant pages.

Maintain Consistent Directory Listings

AI engines cross-reference data from multiple sources. Inconsistencies in your NAP information across directories can prevent inclusion in overviews or cause inaccurate information to appear.

Ensure your business information is identical across Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, Bing Places, Yelp, and industry-specific directories. Use tools to manage citations at scale if you operate multiple locations.

The Power of Reviews and Customer Feedback

Online reviews significantly impact AI Overview inclusion. Recent, detailed reviews carry more weight than older, generic feedback. With 91% of consumers reading reviews before visiting a local business, and 65% more likely to choose a business that responds, review management has become essential.

Encourage customers to leave specific reviews that highlight unique aspects of your service. A review saying "Great coffee" helps less than one saying "The baristas at this Melbourne café really know their craft, they recommended the Ethiopian single-origin and it was the best pour-over I've had."

Adapting to the New Local Search Landscape

Optimising for "near me" searches and AI Overviews isn't a one-time task, it's an ongoing process. Search behaviour continues evolving as AI assistants become more sophisticated and consumers grow more comfortable relying on AI-generated answers.

The businesses that will thrive are those that embrace this shift early. By optimising your Google Business Profile, implementing structured data, creating conversational content, and actively managing reviews, you position yourself to appear in the AI snapshots that increasingly drive local discovery.

The future of local visibility won't be determined by who has the best traditional SEO. It will belong to businesses that understand how AI interprets, aggregates, and presents local information, and optimise accordingly.

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