Local AI Trust, CTRs Up, Commodity Content, Agentic Search Vision

Yelp: 57% Using AI for Local Search

Yelp recently upgraded its AI assistant, expanding capabilities and integrating third party tools (e.g., ZocDoc, DoorDash), to enable users to "take action." Simultaneously, the company released a survey of 2,200 US adults about AI local search usage. It found that 65% of respondents used AI search in the past 6 months, and 57% "use AI tools to find local businesses at least once a month." However, Yelp believes the study's true headline is "only 15% of respondents 'trust [AI] a lot.'" Accordingly, nearly two-thirds of respondents said they look up other sources to validate AI findings. The survey is silent on the specific other sources, but think: Google reviews. This is what our research has discovered; people use AI for local and then validate on Google. Survey respondents complain about a lack of transparency or visibility into AI sources as the chief reason for their distrust or skepticism. The survey goes on to report that people really want trusted citations, especially human experiences and reviews. (Yelp believes it has an inherent trust advantage.) The survey also presented competing AI local search scenarios (restaurants, HVAC): one with text only and no citations and the other with rich information, including reviews, and booking widgets. Of course "respondents preferred the AI answers that featured authentic human content and trusted sources." Gen Z was the most interested in seeing what was behind AI answers, but so was everyone else.