Local search &
platform news
Timely local SEO updates for multi-location brands: Google Business Profile, Apple Business, Meta, AI search, and EU regulation, explained for the central teams that manage hundreds or thousands of locations.
August 2026
Google Maps turns Ask Maps into an AI ordering agent
Google's Ask Maps can now order food along your route through Square and Toast. What agentic, conversational Maps discovery means for multi-location brands.
Marcus OlssonUS Supreme Court ruling puts EU-US data transfers at risk
The Supreme Court ended FTC independence in Trump v. Slaughter, and noyb is calling on the EU to withdraw the Data Privacy Framework adequacy decision.
Marcus OlssonGoogle Ads API pilots secure access for manager accounts
Google is piloting Secure API Access for Google Ads manager accounts, letting owners allowlist which apps can run sensitive account and billing calls.
Marcus OlssonEU weighs ChatGPT as a Digital Markets Act gatekeeper
The European Commission is assessing whether ChatGPT meets the Digital Markets Act gatekeeper thresholds. What that could mean for brand visibility at scale.
Marcus OlssonGoogle adds ways to spot fake Business Profile messages
Google refreshed its guidance on fraudulent calls and texts targeting Business Profiles, adding WhatsApp and RCS signals multi-location brands can teach.
BjΓΆrn HandellMicrosoft Clarity now splits AI citations by brand
Microsoft Clarity separates branded and non-branded queries in its free AI Citations dashboard, giving multi-location brands a clearer read on AI visibility.
Astghik NikoghosyanJuly 2026
AI models search for the brands they already remember
A geoSurge study finds AI models search the web for brands they already know 3.2 times more often than ones they don't. Why it reshapes AI visibility at scale.
Astghik NikoghosyanWhat Google AI Mode quotes: a 15.7M-citation study
A Pillarbase study of 15.7 million Google AI Mode citations shows what gets quoted: full paragraphs that lead with the answer. What it means for brands.
Astghik NikoghosyanGoogle Ads API to require passkeys from August 2026
Google will require passkeys to generate new OAuth refresh tokens for the Google Ads API from August 5, 2026, replacing password, SMS and TOTP sign-in.
Marcus OlssonGoogle AI Overviews are inventing fake store closures
A Google AI Overview wrongly told searchers an Ontario bakery was closing. For multi-location brands, one false AI summary per site scales into real risk.
Astghik NikoghosyanGoogle review snippets bar undisclosed incentivized reviews
Google's review snippet rules now bar undisclosed incentivized reviews in your markup, and pages that break them can lose star-rating rich results.
Astghik NikoghosyanChatGPT gains Yelp reviews, ratings for local answers
OpenAI has licensed Yelp's reviews, ratings and photos so ChatGPT can answer local queries with that data. What the deal means for multi-location brands.
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