One of the ongoing drumbeats of the AI era is that search behavior is evolving and becoming more conversational. This means that if local businesses want to be recommended in AI-engine answers to LLM queries, they need to play by new rules, including finer granularity and business detail across their online presence. This has always been the case in traditional search and SEO best practices. But now the need for this granularity is greater, and the stakes are higher, as conversational search is more prevalent. Full sentences – and long ones at that – are replacing the caveman-style of keyword search (e.g., “coffee shop, near me”). We recently touched on this phenomenon in light of the SOCi 2026 Local Visibility Index (LVI) report findings.
Now, SOCi is back with additional data that reinforces this takeaway – this time focusing on query evolution. Specifically, LLM queries now average 23 words, which is almost 6x that of traditional search engines.
“That’s not a small shift…it’s a fundamental change in how consumers discover brands,” SOCi CMO Monica Ho said. “Search has officially escaped the search box.”
Double-Edged Sword
This finding confirms and quantifies what we suspected in terms of evolving user behavior. As more people turn to AI search engines, LLM queries are getting more conversational and detailed. This is also the case on Google proper, as users are conditioned to AI Overviews and AI Mode-dominant SERPs.
One key question that emerges is, what are all those extra words being used for? And what does that say in terms of tactical takeaways for marketers? For the first question, SOCi says that users are asking natural-language full questions, defining context, and more explicitly expressing their intent.
That last part is important because search has always been a game of inferring intent from caveman queries. This means that the above evolution in query composition is a favor to search engines as there’s less inference required. That boils down to less guesswork they have to do to return relevant results.
But with that advantage comes a set of challenges – a double-edged sword for search engines, and marketers that need to optimize their online presence. One of those challenges is users’ rising standards. They expect relevant and detailed answers and are less forgiving of incomplete business details.
SOCi’s LVI Report Reveals How AI Is Rewriting Local Search Visibility
Every Digital Surface
Another challenge is that AI engines are much more selective in terms of recommending local businesses. As we examined last week in our coverage of SOCI’s 2026 Local Visibility Index (LVI) , it’s 30x harder to be referenced in AI-engine search results compared to traditional search – partly due to less inventory (one answer, no 3-pack).
Both the above challenges point to the same tactical takeaways: Optimize presence for nuance and specificity. Make sure information is updated and detailed on the same nuanced levels that searchers are searching. Menus, service areas, and pet policies need to be spelled out with exhaustive granularity.
SOCi says that the name of the game is also to optimize presence in all the places that LLM’s pull from. It’s no longer about GBP listings alone, but info that appears across Yelp, Facebook, and other touchpoints. Again, this was always the case with SEO, but the stakes are higher now to get it right.
“With that level of specificity, every digital surface matters – your reviews and responses, your social content, your local pages and profile pages on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and beyond,” said Ho. “If your locations aren’t clearly showcasing what makes them unique, you won’t show up when it matters most.”
