If 63% of people say ads in AI search results would make them trust those results less, where does that leave local businesses counting on AI discovery? The February 2026 Ipsos survey should make anyone relying exclusively on AI search platforms rethink their strategy. When trust erodes, visibility matters even more. That means the boring, unglamorous work of earning quality backlinks just became more critical, not less.
AI Search Platforms Roll Out Ads Despite User Skepticism
OpenAI started testing ads in ChatGPT in February 2026 for free and Go-tier users. Google has been running ads in AI Mode since late 2025 and launched ads in AI Overviews last October. Both platforms are expanding their ad inventory at the exact moment that trust metrics flash red. The Ipsos data, collected from 1,085 U.S. adults, found that 27% strongly agreed and 36% somewhat agreed that ads would reduce their trust in AI search results. Only 24% disagreed.
The early performance numbers do not inspire confidence either. Some advertisers in the ChatGPT pilot reported click-through rates around 0.91%, compared to Google Search’s average of 6.4%. That seven-fold gap tells you something about user intent and engagement in conversational AI interfaces. People are not clicking ads when they are chatting with a bot. They might not even notice them. Google mentioned on its Q4 2025 earnings call that AI Mode queries run three times longer than traditional searches, which sounds like an opportunity for more ad placements until you realize longer sessions might also mean users are less focused and less ready to buy.
Why Local Businesses Should Double Down on Backlinks
When platforms monetize and users grow skeptical, organic authority becomes your hedge. If someone searches for your service and an AI tool serves them an ad instead of your business, you have lost that moment unless you have built enough credibility elsewhere. That credibility comes from backlinks. Specifically, local backlinks from trusted sources in your community and industry.
Our take: SEO services that focus on link-building are not outdated. They are essential insurance against platform risk. Google still uses backlinks as a core ranking signal. AI search tools scrape and cite sources based on authority. If your business has no authoritative mentions across the web, you are invisible in both traditional search and AI-mediated discovery. The Ipsos survey found that over half of U.S. adults have tried an AI search tool, but usage has stayed mostly flat since September 2025. That means people are experimenting but not fully committing. Traditional search is not going anywhere soon, and backlinks still determine who shows up in those results.
Here is the uncomfortable truth: learning how to build backlinks for local business is harder than buying an AI search ad, but it lasts longer and costs less over time. An ad runs until your budget runs out. A backlink from a local news site or industry directory can drive traffic and authority for years.
How to Build Backlinks for Local Business in 2026
You do not need a massive budget or an agency retainer to start. You need a plan and consistency. Follow these steps:
- Claim and optimize every local directory listing. Google Business Profile, Yelp, industry-specific directories, and local chamber of commerce sites all provide backlinks. These are low-hanging fruit. Most local businesses have not even filled out all the fields. Complete profiles with accurate NAP (name, address, phone) data, business hours, and categories. These citations build baseline authority and help AI tools find consistent information about your business.
- Pitch local news sites and community blogs. Journalists need sources. Offer to comment on local business trends, sponsor a Little League team and get mentioned in a local paper, or write a guest op-ed about your industry. One backlink from a trusted local news site carries more weight than fifty spammy directory listings. Reach out with a specific story angle, not a generic pitch. Make it easy for them to say yes.
- Partner with complementary local businesses. If you run a bakery, partner with a local coffee roaster and link to each other’s sites. Co-host an event and get coverage on both websites. Cross-promote on social media and encourage your partners to link back to your site when they mention the collaboration. These reciprocal links work when they are genuine and contextual, not when they look like link schemes.
- Create content worth citing. Publish original research, local market data, or how-to guides specific to your area. If you are a real estate agent in Glendale, publish a quarterly report on median home prices by neighborhood. Local bloggers and journalists will cite it. If you are a plumber, write a guide to dealing with hard water issues common in your region. Make it detailed and helpful. When people search for those problems, your guide becomes the answer, and other sites link to it.
- Monitor your backlink profile and fix broken links. Use free tools like Google Search Console to see who links to you. If a high-authority site links to a page that no longer exists, set up a redirect. If a competitor gets mentioned in a local roundup and you do not, reach out to that publisher and ask to be included next time. Backlink building is not a one-time project. It requires ongoing maintenance and outreach.
For Small and Local Businesses
You do not need to outspend national brands on AI search ads or chase every new platform. You need to be the most trusted, most cited business in your local market. That happens through relationships, not algorithms. When a local blogger writes about the best coffee shops in your neighborhood and links to your site, that is a vote of confidence no ad can buy. When the chamber of commerce lists your business as a member and links to your homepage, that is a signal to both Google and AI tools that you are legitimate.
Start small. Pick two tactics from the list above and execute them this month. Get listed in three local directories you are not in yet. Pitch one story to a local news site. Partner with one complementary business. Track the backlinks you earn and watch your organic traffic over the next quarter. You will see results because you are building something that lasts, not renting attention from a platform that may change its rules tomorrow.
If you need help scaling your local SEO strategy, we can map out a backlink plan specific to your market and industry. But the fundamentals are free. You just have to do the work.
