Local AI visibility — why your national score isn't enough
For multi-location brands and local services, a single national AI visibility score hides the answers that matter. Here's how to split it.
The local blind spot
A national AI visibility score tells you the engines name your brand 32% of the time across your tracked prompt set. It doesn't tell you whether you appear in the answer to "best plumber in Manchester" or "best dentist near Camden".
For multi-location brands and local services, the national score is a leading indicator at best — and a misleading one at worst.
Split early
In Citations.io's onboarding, set your visibility scope to local or multi-location and add the cities or regions that matter. We then track:
- A national AI visibility score (your default)
- A local AI visibility score per city/region
- Local citation sources (directories, review sites, regional press)
- Local visibility gaps — prompts where competitors win in that location
What moves local scores
Local answers lean disproportionately on:
- Google Business Profile completeness and review velocity
- Local directory presence (Yelp, Trustpilot, niche directories)
- Locally-relevant press and creator coverage
- "City + service" landing pages with real depth
None of these are SEO-only any more — they all show up in AI citations now.