{"id":1026,"slug":"brightlocal-lcrs-2026-six-review-sources-45pct-ai-recommendations","title":"BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (n=1,002 US adults via SurveyMonkey): average of 6 review sources used; 97% read reviews online; 45% use ChatGPT/AI for local recommendations (up from 6% in 2025)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["ai-citation","measurement","trust-signals","lead-gen-directories","homestars"],"reference_body":"## BrightLocal LCRS 2026 — headline findings\n\n- **97% of consumers read reviews online** (replacing the older *\"93%\"* figure from BrightLocal's 2021 edition)\n- **41% \"always\" read reviews** (up from 29% in 2025)\n- **Average of 6 review sources** used when researching a local business\n- **Google share of review-reading dropped from 83% (2025) to 71% (2026)** — Facebook, BBB, Trustpilot, Apple Maps, and Angi all gained\n- **ChatGPT / generative AI as a local-recommendation source rose from 6% to 45% in a single year**, becoming the **third most popular source of business recommendations**\n\n**Methodology:** 1,002 U.S. adult consumers via SurveyMonkey.\n\n**Source:** BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\nVerbatim BrightLocal quote on the AI shift:\n\n> *\"Use of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools for local recommendations has grown rapidly, rising from 6% last year to 45% and becoming the third most popular source of business recommendations.\"*\n\n## Multi-platform usage — context for the \"directory listing is a starting point\" framing\n\n**2024 finding (restated 2025):**\n\n- **77% of consumers use ≥2 review platforms**\n- **41% use ≥3**\n- **Less than a quarter use only one**\n\n**2025 edition:**\n\n- **71% read reviews \"regularly,\"** down from 75% in 2024\n- **89% expect business owners to respond to both positive and negative reviews**\n\n**Sources:** BrightLocal LCRS 2024, 2025, 2026.\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n## Implication for Candid use\n\nA directory listing — HomeStars or any other — is a **starting point, never an endpoint**. Buyers who see a contractor on HomeStars then leave and check Google, the contractor's own website, social media, **and now AI summaries**.\n\n**The 45% AI-recommendation finding is the most operationally significant shift** documented in the 2026 LCRS. It implies that **schema-rich, AI-citable content on the contractor's own site is now load-bearing** in a way it was not as recently as 2025. See [[schema-markup-for-contractor-sites-2026-google-guidance]] and the parallel rule at [[rule-gold-seal-use-schema-org-person-hascredential]].\n\nCross-references the established review-reading evidence at [[homestars-2021-reno-report-98pct-read-reviews]] and [[clever-real-estate-2024-contractor-choice-rankings]] for the Canadian / contractor-choice-factor angles.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"homestars-2021-reno-report-98pct-read-reviews","title":"HomeStars September 2021 Reno Report (n=1,103, Angus Reid Forum): >98% of Canadian homeowners read reviews before making a purchasing decision","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"clever-real-estate-2024-contractor-choice-rankings","title":"Clever Real Estate 2024 contractor-choice survey (n=1,000 US homeowners, Aug 14–16 2024): reputation 25%, experience 23%, cost 19%, recommendations 13%, availability 11%","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-homestars-platform-critique","title":"Research brief: HomeStars / Angi — the case against directory dependence, with the owned-trust-signal alternative for Ontario contractors (May 24, 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"multi-touch-buyer-journey-discovery-validation-verification-contact","title":"Multi-touch buyer journey for residential construction / major renovation: 4-touch sequence (discovery → validation → verification → contact); the contractor's own website is the 2nd or 3rd surface, not the 1st","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"schema-markup-for-contractor-sites-2026-google-guidance","title":"Schema markup for contractor sites (2026 Google guidance): GeneralContractor / HomeAndConstructionBusiness / LocalBusiness, Service per service-line, Review + AggregateRating, Person for principals, FAQPage on service pages, Project (Article subtype) on case studies","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-24T17:04:39.729Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T17:04:39.729Z"}