Just a couple of months ago, Google had ads on the local pack for less than 3% of tracked keywords; now it's up to about 22% of tracked keywords. This was data posted by Joy Hawkins on X she got from Places Scout. Joy wrote, "Just had Places Scout re-run the data to see how this looks in January so far (we're tracking across 1200 mobile ranking reports). The increase isn't slowing down yet."
For the U.S. market, OpenAI's ChatGPT topped the ranks of free iPhone apps (not including games) with the most installs in 2025. The AI app was followed by Threads, Google, TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail and then Google's Gemini. ChatGPT made it to No. 4 last year, but the top spot was taken by Chinese shopping app Temu.
We're starting to test a new way to seamlessly go deeper in AI Mode directly from the Search results page on mobile, globally. This brings us closer to our vision for Search: just ask whatever's on your mind - no matter how long or complex - and find exactly what you need. You shouldn't have to think about where or how to ask your question.
Here's a stat that should make every small business owner sit up: 76% of people who perform a local search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours, and 28% of those visits result in a purchase. That means when a customer searches for "best coffee near me" or "emergency plumber downtown," the decision is often made in minutes - not days.
