BrightLocal vs Thryv

AI search levels field between national brands and local firms

BrightLocal chief executive Myles Anderson argues that AI-powered search reduces the advantage of national brands over local businesses by rewarding narrow, provable local expertise, fresh content and direct booking capability. Large, multi-location brands risk appearing generic to language models unless they create localized, frequently updated signals across touchpoints. BrightLocal's Consumer Search Behavior Survey 2026 shows substantial consumer testing of AI for local recommendations, but many users still verify answers on Google. Anderson also highlights Google’s deep local data assets and warns that 'agentic' AI assistants able to book appointments could start routing leads toward businesses that permit direct agent interaction by late 2026.

• Home Depot operates more than 2,000 US stores, each competing locally.
• BrightLocal Consumer Search Behavior Survey 2026: 58% have tried AI tools for local business recommendations; 31% use them at least monthly; 18% acted on AI answers without further checking; 82% went to Google afterward to confirm.
• Google holds around 200 million business records, about 40 million of which are actively claimed and maintained by their owners, plus roughly 120 million local guides contributions and about 20 million freshness updates daily.

Guide: Get Your Business Recommended by AI Engines

MarTech Series published a July 9, 2026 article reporting that marketing strategist Zues Ordaz (Founder & CEO, New Gen Marketing Company) has released a free step-by-step guide showing how businesses can get recommended by AI recommendation engines — a practice he calls Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). The article cites industry data showing rapid consumer adoption of AI discovery tools (BrightLocal: 45% used AI tools for local discovery in 2026; SOCi: ChatGPT recommends only 1.2% of local businesses) and broader shifts in information sources (McKinsey: 44% of AI-search users now use AI as their primary source). Ordaz’s agency is presented as a working example: when asked for the top marketing company in Worthington, Minnesota, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity recommend New Gen Marketing Company. The guide is distributed via Ordaz’s AI Prompt Vault.

• BrightLocal’s 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey found 45% of consumers used AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to find local businesses in the past year, up from 6% a year earlier.
• A 2026 SOCi Local Visibility Index analysis of more than 350,000 business locations found that ChatGPT recommends just 1.2% of local businesses.
• Research from McKinsey in early 2026 found 44% of AI-search users consider AI their primary source of information versus 31% for traditional search.

8-K Financial Filing Analysis for Thryv (2026-09-14)

On September 12, 2026, Thryv Holdings, Inc. entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to divest its legacy directory operations to Coldwater YP, LLC, an affiliate of Carolwood, L.P., for $142 million in cash, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction encompasses the Yellow and White Pages print directories and their associated digital editions across the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Australia White Pages. This divestiture marks a major strategic milestone, allowing Thryv to shed its legacy marketing services footprint and fully transition into a pure-play SMB SaaS and software business.

• Entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement on September 12, 2026, to sell legacy directory assets for $142 million in cash.
• Divested assets include Yellow and White Pages print directories, digital directory editions in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, and Australia White Pages.
• The purchaser is Coldwater YP, LLC, an affiliate of Carolwood, L.P., subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments.

Thryv Joins 2026 Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces

Thryv Holdings, Inc., an AI-enabled small business marketing platform provider, was named to the Best Practice Institute’s 2026 Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces list. This is Thryv’s third consecutive year on the list; the company rose from #66 in 2025 to #53 in 2026. The ranking is based on BPI’s Love of Workplace Index®, which draws data from more than two million employees worldwide and evaluates employee sentiment across factors such as career advancement, values alignment, respect, collaboration, diversity and leadership. Thryv leadership highlighted the company’s remote-first culture and international teams across the U.S., Australia, Canada, the Dominican Republic and New Zealand. The article was published July 15, 2026.

• Thryv Holdings, Inc. earned a spot on the 2026 Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces list from the Best Practice Institute.
• This is Thryv’s third consecutive year on the Best Practice Institute list.
• Thryv improved its ranking from #66 in 2025 to #53 in 2026.

AI Adoption Continues to Rise, but 70% Say They Need More Training to Use It Effectively

Thryv announces new research on AI adoption among small businesses, highlighting the need for training.