Is Your Local SEO Strategy Ready For Google’s Next AI Updates? [Webinar]

The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence in search engine mechanics is once again reshaping the digital marketing landscape, presenting both profound challenges and strategic imperatives for multi-location enterprises and local businesses. As Google continues to integrate advanced generative AI systems—such as Gemini and prominent AI Overviews—into its core search architecture, the traditional paradigms of local search engine optimization (SEO) are undergoing a radical transformation. Ranking prominently within the conventional local map pack is no longer the definitive culmination of an effective search strategy. Instead, brands must now contend with an environment where automated AI agents actively compare disparate options, synthesize localized data, formulate definitive consumer decisions, and execute transactional appointments entirely within the search ecosystem, frequently bypassing a brand’s primary website altogether.

To help organizations navigate this shifting paradigm, Search Engine Journal has announced an exclusive, data-driven live webinar titled "Google On What’s Next In AI Search + 5 Local Marketing Strategy Fixes." Scheduled for Thursday, September 24, at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, the virtual event brings together prominent industry leaders from Google, Adecco, and Uberall to examine the intersection of artificial intelligence and local discovery, while offering actionable frameworks to ensure regional and national brands remain visible, recommended, and successfully booked.

The Changing Mechanics of Local Discovery in an AI-First Era

For decades, local SEO was largely defined by a standardized checklist: optimizing Google Business Profiles, accumulating positive customer reviews, embedding local schema markup, and securing citations across major directories. While these foundational elements remain relevant, the advent of generative AI search features has dramatically altered how information is retrieved, contextualized, and presented to end-users.

Modern AI search tools do not merely present a list of blue links or isolated map markers; they perform deep contextual synthesis. When a consumer issues a complex, hyper-local query—such as finding a specialized service provider with immediate availability, specific amenities, and verified peer sentiment—Google’s AI aggregates data from thousands of fragmented digital touchpoints to formulate a singular, authoritative recommendation.

Industry data underscores the urgency of this technological shift. Current analytics reveal that while Google’s AI-powered search features now engage billions of users on a monthly basis, an overwhelming 68% of commercial brands remain entirely absent from AI-generated recommendations. This stark discrepancy highlights a critical vulnerability in contemporary digital marketing strategies: most businesses are maintaining only a fraction of the digital signals that large language models rely on to build trust and authority. When local signals conflict, degrade, or remain inconsistent across even a small subset of physical locations, algorithmic preference shifts decisively toward competitors equipped with cleaner, more unified data architectures.

Anticipating Google’s Upcoming AI Search Innovations

The upcoming iterations of Google’s AI search updates are expected to raise the performance bar even higher, demanding absolute precision in how physical establishments present their operational data to the web. In response to these sweeping architectural changes, the upcoming webinar will unpack five targeted strategic fixes designed to align local marketing operations with the realities of modern algorithmic evaluation.

These five strategic adjustments focus on resolving common vulnerabilities that plague multi-location brands, including data fragmentation across third-party directories, misaligned location-based schema, unmonitored review sentiment, and the lack of frictionless transactional pathways. By addressing these weak points, enterprises can ensure that their physical storefronts and regional service hubs are accurately interpreted, favorably weighted, and dynamically recommended by conversational search engines and recommendation assistants.

Expert Panelists and Event Leadership

The live session features a distinguished lineup of digital marketing and search engine authorities who bring firsthand operational insight from the front lines of AI development and local search infrastructure:

• Caroline Dissaux: Serving as the Business Development Lead for Search and Gemini at Google, Dissaux offers an authoritative perspective on the trajectory of Google’s search innovations, the operational philosophy behind generative AI integrations, and what businesses must do to remain discoverable within next-generation discovery engines.
• Bonnie White: Operating as the Strategic Partnerships Manager at Adecco—where she actively supports Google on Google Business Profile partnerships—White brings deep enterprise-level expertise regarding the management, verification, and scaling of multi-location business data.
• Krystal Taing: As the Vice President of Solutions at Uberall, Taing specializes in multi-location marketing technology and localized consumer experiences. During the session, she will break down the tactical, execution-level fixes required to make enterprise locations fully compatible with emerging AI search algorithms.
• Katie Morton: Executive Editor at Search Engine Journal, Morton will host and moderate the discussion, guiding the panel through critical questions regarding data hygiene, attribution challenges, and the future of consumer behavior in an automated search economy.

Background Context and Industry Implications

The transition toward AI-driven local discovery is part of a broader, multi-year pivot across the technology sector toward conversational, zero-click, and action-oriented search experiences. As search engines evolve from simple indexers of information into active proxy agents for consumers, the traditional customer journey has compressed significantly.

For multi-location brands—such as national retail chains, hospitality groups, healthcare networks, and franchise systems—the implications are profound. A fragmented digital footprint that was once tolerable in a traditional SEO environment can now lead to complete algorithmic exclusion in an AI Overview. If an AI agent cannot independently verify a location’s exact operating hours, real-time pricing, service availability, or compliance certifications due to conflicting directory listings, the system will bypass that brand in favor of a more transparent competitor.

Furthermore, the integration of direct-action capabilities—allowing users to schedule appointments, reserve tables, or initiate purchases directly from the search interface—means that digital conversions are increasingly decoupled from traditional website traffic. Brands must therefore shift their optimization focus from driving raw web visitors to ensuring high algorithmic trust and seamless transactional API integrations with platforms like Google Business Profile.

Registration and Accessibility Details

Professionals, digital marketers, and enterprise brand managers seeking to future-proof their local search strategies can register for the live event directly through the Search Engine Journal platform. While the broadcast is scheduled for Thursday, September 24, at 11:00 AM ET, organizers have confirmed that registrants who are unable to attend the live broadcast will automatically receive a comprehensive recording and accompanying resource materials following the session.

As search technology continues its relentless march toward total automation, sessions of this caliber offer critical guidance for organizations striving to maintain competitive visibility in an increasingly crowded and algorithmic digital marketplace.