How UK customers find and choose local businesses: the numbers

Search, maps and AI assistants

• UK: 82% of UK online adults used Google Search in May 2025 (83% in 2024, 86% in 2023), for 1 hour 27 minutes per person across the month.
  What it measures: Monthly reach of Google Search. Sample: Ipsos iris online audience measurement, UK internet users aged 18+, May 2025 (earlier years for comparison). Source: Ofcom, Online Nation 2025 (published 10 December 2025).
• UK: Google Maps reached 78% of UK online adults in May 2025 (73% in 2024, 69% in 2023). On smartphones it was the third most-used app, used by 77% of adults in the month, and the Apple Maps app reached 15% of smartphone users.
  What it measures: Monthly reach of map services. Sample: Ipsos iris online audience measurement, UK internet users aged 18+, May 2025 (earlier years for comparison). Source: Ofcom, Online Nation 2025 (published 10 December 2025).
• UK: Three-quarters of adults say they use search engines such as Google at least once a day. Of those looking for information about something they might buy, a majority said they turn to search engines first.
  What it measures: How often people search, and where they look first. Sample: Ofcom Online Research Panel poll, Searching Online, 2,118 UK online adults aged 16+, March 2025. Source: Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes 2025 (published 7 May 2025).
• UK: Google handles about 3 billion UK web searches a month. ChatGPT had 252 million UK web visits in August 2025, up 156% on a year earlier, and Ofcom describes it as already the second-largest search service.
  What it measures: Search traffic from the UK. Sample: Similarweb, web visits from the UK on fixed and mobile devices, August 2025, as compiled by Ofcom. Source: Ofcom, Online Nation 2025 (published 10 December 2025).
• UK: 53% of UK people say they often see AI summaries in search.
  What it measures: How often people see AI answers in search. Sample: YouGov, 18 February 2025, as cited by Ofcom (sample size not given in Ofcom's report). Source: Ofcom, Online Nation 2025 (published 10 December 2025).
• UK: 64% of UK respondents said they had seen an AI-generated answer to one of their searches in the last week, against 54% across the six countries surveyed.
  What it measures: Exposure to AI answers in search. Sample: YouGov for the Reuters Institute, online sample of 2,041 in the UK, 5 to 23 June 2025. Source: Reuters Institute, University of Oxford, Generative AI and News Report 2025.
• Six countries including the UK: Of people who saw AI answers, 33% say they always or often click the links in them, 37% sometimes and 28% rarely or never. The report notes that what people say they do may differ from what they do.
  What it measures: Self-reported clicks from AI answers. Sample: Online samples of about 2,000 in each of Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan, the UK and the US, June to July 2025. Source: Reuters Institute, University of Oxford, Generative AI and News Report 2025.
• Six countries including the UK: Weekly use of generative AI nearly doubled in a year, from 18% to 34%. Using it to get information went from 11% to 24% a week.
  What it measures: Weekly use of AI tools, and what for. Sample: Online samples of about 2,000 in each of six countries, 2024 and June to July 2025. Source: Reuters Institute, University of Oxford, Generative AI and News Report 2025.
• UK: 54% of UK adults now use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini, including 79% of 16 to 24-year-olds and 74% of 25 to 34-year-olds.
  What it measures: Adult use of AI tools. Sample: Ofcom Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Tracker, 7,533 UK adults aged 16+, 29 September to 28 November 2025. Source: Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes 2026 news release (2 April 2026).
• US: On Google searches that showed an AI summary, US users clicked a traditional result link on 8% of visits, against 15% where there was no summary. They clicked a link inside the summary on 1% of visits.
  What it measures: Observed clicks, from browsing data. Sample: 900 US adults who shared their browsing, 68,879 Google searches, March 2025. Source: Pew Research Center, 22 July 2025.
• US: 52% of US consumers started their most recent local business search on Google Search and 9% on Google Maps. 71% used Google Search at some point, and 75% used more than one channel.
  What it measures: Where a local search starts and which channels it uses. Sample: 1,227 US consumers who had searched online for a local business in the last three months, published 9 July 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Consumer Search Behavior 2026.
• US: 23% of US consumers used AI tools in their most recent local business search, and 31% use them for local recommendations at least monthly. Of those using AI for local searches, 18% felt ready to contact the business it recommended. Of those who started on an AI tool, 43% went on to check Google.
  What it measures: AI tools in the local search journey. Sample: 1,227 US consumers who had searched online for a local business in the last three months, published 9 July 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Consumer Search Behavior 2026.
• US: Use of ChatGPT and other AI tools for local business recommendations rose from 6% of US consumers in the 2025 survey to 45% in 2026.
  What it measures: Sources used for local recommendations. Sample: 1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, published 11 February 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.
• Worldwide: Google Maps passed 2 billion monthly users, Alphabet's chief executive said in October 2024.
  What it measures: Worldwide monthly users of Google Maps. Sample: Alphabet's Q3 2024 earnings call, 29 October 2024. Source: Alphabet's Q3 2024 earnings call, as reported by 9to5Google.

What this means for your business: Search engines are still the first stop for most people looking for something to buy, and more of them now see an AI answer before any link. A Google profile with every detail right, and a website that answers the questions customers ask, give both the results and the AI answers something accurate to show about you.

Reviews

• UK: 68% of UK consumers said online reviews were their primary source for purchase decisions, ahead of family and friends (24%) and brand claims (18%).
  What it measures: Reliance on reviews when buying. Sample: 530 UK consumers, survey by Prodege, published 26 November 2024 (fieldwork dates not stated). Source: Reputation (a review management company), press release, 26 November 2024.
• Google, all countries: Google says local results are "mainly based on relevance, distance, and popularity". It describes prominence, how well-known a business is, as based partly on how many reviews it has, and says "more reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking".
  What it measures: How Google says it ranks local results. Sample: Google's own help page, read 7 October 2026. Source: Google Business Profile Help, How to improve your local ranking on Google.
• UK law: The Competition and Markets Authority published fake reviews guidance on 4 April 2025, for consumer law changes that came in that month. After reviewing the websites of more than 100 businesses, it wrote to 54 that could be failing to comply. In March 2026, using new powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, it opened investigations into five businesses over online reviews.
  What it measures: The law on fake and misleading reviews, and how it is enforced. Sample: CMA guidance and case pages. Source: CMA, Fake reviews guidance (CMA208); CMA, Online consumer reviews case page.
• US: 97% of US consumers read reviews for local businesses, and 41% always do (29% in 2025). They use six review sites on average.
  What it measures: How many people read reviews. Sample: 1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, published 11 February 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.
• US: 47% of US consumers won't use a business with fewer than 20 reviews. 9% are willing to use one with five or fewer.
  What it measures: How many reviews people want to see. Sample: 1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, published 11 February 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.
• US: 74% of US consumers look for reviews written in the last three months. 32% look for reviews from the last two weeks (20% in 2025), and 18% are only swayed by reviews from the last week.
  What it measures: How recent reviews need to be. Sample: 1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, published 11 February 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.
• US: 31% of US consumers will only use a business with 4.5 stars or more (17% in 2025), and 68% will only use one with four stars or more (55% in 2025).
  What it measures: Star ratings people accept. Sample: 1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, published 11 February 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.
• US: 80% of US consumers say they're likely to use a business that responds to all of its reviews. Templated or generic replies put off 50%. 19% expect a reply on the day they post (6% in 2025), and 81% within a week.
  What it measures: Owner replies to reviews. Sample: 1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, published 11 February 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.
• US: 83% of US consumers who were asked to leave a review went on to leave one. Separately, 45% of all US consumers surveyed left a Google review in the past year.
  What it measures: Asking for reviews, and how many people leave them. Sample: 1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, published 11 February 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.

What this means for your business: In the US survey people look at how many reviews you have and how recent they are, and Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking. Ask every customer for a review after each job, and reply to each review in your own words. Fake reviews are against UK consumer law, so ask real customers only.

Phones and missed calls

We looked for a recent UK figure for how many calls to local businesses go unanswered, or how many callers ring someone else instead, and found none from 2024 to 2026 that we could read at its source. The figures we traced came from a 2016 survey or a 2011 study, older than this page allows, so they are not here. The one UK finding below is about the call back.

• UK: 43% of people who look at the number before deciding whether to answer say they would be very unlikely to pick up a call from a withheld number.
  What it measures: Whether people answer a call from a withheld number. Sample: Yonder for Ofcom, online panel of 2,128 UK adults aged 16+, 31 January to 1 February 2024; this question went to the 1,978 who look at the number before deciding to answer. Source: Ofcom, Experiences of suspicious calls, texts and app messages (2024).

What this means for your business: If you miss a call and ring back from a withheld number, many people will not pick up. Ring back from a number that shows, ideally the one on your Google profile, so they have a chance to recognise it. Your phone's call log shows how many calls you miss, which is the figure to check for your own business.

Mobile

• UK: UK adults spent an average of 4 hours 30 minutes a day online on their own phones, tablets and computers in May 2025, up 10 minutes on a year earlier. Smartphones took 77% of that time (75% a year earlier).
  What it measures: Time online, and the share on a smartphone. Sample: Ipsos iris online audience measurement, UK internet users aged 18+, May 2025 (earlier years for comparison). Source: Ofcom, Online Nation 2025 (published 10 December 2025).
• UK: 18% of adults who go online do so only on a smartphone, up from 12% in 2019.
  What it measures: People who go online only on a phone. Sample: Ofcom Adults' Media Literacy Tracker, UK adults aged 16+, fieldwork in 2024. Source: Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes 2025 (published 7 May 2025).
• UK: 95% of people aged 16+ have internet access at home. 5% don't, unchanged from 2024, and one in five of those aged 75 and over have none.
  What it measures: Home internet access. Sample: Ofcom Technology Tracker 2025, UK adults aged 16+. Source: Ofcom, Online Nation 2025 (published 10 December 2025).
• US: 73% of US consumers started their most recent local business search on a mobile phone, 19% on a computer and 8% on a tablet.
  What it measures: Which device a local search starts on. Sample: 1,227 US consumers who had searched online for a local business in the last three months, published 9 July 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Consumer Search Behavior 2026.

What this means for your business: Most time online is spent on a phone, so the page your Google profile links to has to work on a small screen: a phone number that rings when tapped, and words that read without zooming.

Websites and trust

• UK: 78% of UK businesses say they have a website, up from 68% in 2023 to 2024. By size: micro businesses 84%, sole traders 76%, small 92%. By sector: construction 65%, against 90% in arts, entertainment and recreation.
  What it measures: Businesses with a website. Sample: 4,450 UK businesses, October 2025 to January 2026, published 18 June 2026. Source: Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, UK Business Data Survey 2026, section 2.1.
• UK: 51% of search engine users correctly said the top four results marked 'sponsored' were there because they had paid to be (54% in 2023). 27% of search engine users think a website is accurate and unbiased because it appears in search results (23% in 2023).
  What it measures: Whether people can tell adverts from results. Sample: Ofcom Adults' Media Literacy Tracker, UK adults aged 16+, fieldwork in 2024. Source: Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes 2025 (published 7 May 2025).
• US: After reading positive reviews, 54% of US consumers go on to visit the business's website (32% when last asked in 2019), the most common next step. 34% are ready to buy or book straight away.
  What it measures: What people do after reading good reviews. Sample: 1,002 US adults, SurveyMonkey panel, published 11 February 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Local Consumer Review Survey 2026.

What this means for your business: Most UK businesses now have a website; of the sectors named in the survey, construction firms had the lowest share. In the US survey, the website was the most common next stop after good reviews, so it helps when it shows the same business your reviews describe, with a clear way to call or book.

Social media

• UK: In May 2025 YouTube reached 94% of UK online adults, Facebook and Messenger 93%, WhatsApp 90%, Instagram 78% and TikTok 56%.
  What it measures: Monthly reach of social platforms. Sample: Ipsos iris online audience measurement, UK internet users aged 18+, May 2025 (earlier years for comparison). Source: Ofcom, Online Nation 2025 (published 10 December 2025).
• UK: 43% of adults say they use social media platforms such as Facebook to search at least once a day, and 34% use video platforms such as TikTok to search daily. Younger adults were more likely to do both.
  What it measures: Social and video platforms as search tools. Sample: Ofcom Online Research Panel poll, Searching Online, 2,118 UK online adults aged 16+, March 2025. Source: Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes 2025 (published 7 May 2025).
• UK: 89% of adult internet users use at least one social media platform, rising to 97% of 16 to 34-year-olds. 49% of adult social media users now post, share or comment, down from 61% in 2024.
  What it measures: Social media use and posting. Sample: Ofcom Adults' Media Use and Attitudes Tracker, 7,533 UK adults aged 16+, 29 September to 28 November 2025. Source: Ofcom, Adults' Media Use and Attitudes 2026 news release (2 April 2026).
• US: 30% of US consumers used social media during their most recent local business search.
  What it measures: Social media in the local search journey. Sample: 1,227 US consumers who had searched online for a local business in the last three months, published 9 July 2026. Source: BrightLocal (a local marketing software company), Consumer Search Behavior 2026.

What this means for your business: Nearly every UK adult online uses YouTube, Facebook or WhatsApp each month, and many search there every day. Recent photos of your work, with a link to your website and your number, give someone who finds you there a way to get in touch.