{"id":1225,"slug":"local-falcon-ai-overview-17-2pct-commercial-58-3pct-info-2025","title":"Local Falcon (2025) — AI Overviews on 17.2% of commercial queries vs 58.3% of informational; including a location name reduced AI Overview appearance (35% vs 46%)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["local-seo","ai-search-citations","ai-mode"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** **Local Falcon** measured AI Overviews on **17.2%** of commercial queries vs **58.3%** of informational. Including a **location name** in the query reduced AI Overview appearance (**35% vs 46%**).\n\n**Source:** Local Falcon, 2025.\n\n**Confidence:** **Industry-consensus** — second vendor source agreeing on direction with [[whitespark-q2-2025-ai-overview-15pct-local-92pct-info]]. Exact numbers differ (~17% vs ~15%), but direction is consistent.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Confirms the asymmetry — commercial / local-intent queries are still relatively safe from AI Overview crowding. Adding a city/locality to the query reduces AI Overview appearance further. Implication for content: explicit local geography in service-page titles/H1s remains valuable.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"whitespark-q2-2025-ai-overview-15pct-local-92pct-info","title":"Whitespark Q2 2025 local-search study — AI Overviews appeared on 15% of simple local-intent queries vs 92% informational vs 97% hybrid; local pack appeared on 93% of local-intent vs 6% of informational","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-businesses-found-on-web-google-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: How businesses got found on the web — a then→now timeline (Google-focused, SMB lens, June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-gbp-still-primary-local-lead-surface-for-near-me-2026","title":"Rule: For Ontario service-business clients in 2026, the Google Business Profile is still the primary local-lead surface — lock it down before anything else","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-monitor-priority-keywords-for-ai-overview-and-pack-presence","title":"Rule: Monitor priority keywords for AI Overview presence + local-pack position so the strategy is data-driven, not folkloric","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"caveats-google-history-smb-brief-cost-coercion-vendor-data","title":"Caveats for the June 2026 Google-history SMB brief — cost/causation claims are weak; \"now\" data is mostly US/global not Canada-specific; vendor sources were used skeptically; rollout state is moving fast","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-18T00:10:55.877Z","updated_at":"2026-06-18T00:10:55.877Z"}