How much does local SEO / AEO actually cost in 2026?
Direct answer: $500–$3,000/month for done-for-you local AI visibility, with $1,200 the realistic median. What each tier should include — and the red flags.
Resources
Straight answers about AI search — the kind AI likes to quote.
Every article opens with a direct answer, cites its sources, and gets updated on a schedule — because that's exactly what we sell.
Featured guide · Updated Jul 2026
Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my business? The 9 reasons, ranked.
Direct answer: ChatGPT builds local recommendations from Foursquare, Yelp and Bing's index — if you're thin or missing on those three, you don't exist. Here's the full breakdown with fixes.
Coming with launch →
Where ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI get local business data
Each engine reads a different source stack — and they overlap less than you'd think. The documented pipelines, mapped.
The 15-minute Google Business Profile audit any owner can do
Category, name hygiene, every field filled, Q&A seeded. The four checks that cover 80% of what matters.
Why "great service!" reviews do nothing for AI visibility
AI quotes specifics: the service, the outcome, the neighborhood. How to ask for reviews that engines can actually extract — legally.
Is your CDN silently blocking AI crawlers? How to check
One Cloudflare toggle removes you from ChatGPT search entirely. The 5-minute robots.txt and WAF check, step by step.
45% of consumers now ask AI for local recommendations
The BrightLocal 2026 numbers, what changed in one year, and which age group leads (it's the one with the money).
Reading is free. So is finding out where you stand.
The audit takes 48 hours and tells you which of these problems are yours.