-- A CraigAds field study has revealed that consumers aren’t abandoning Google for AI when making purchasing decisions as much as many news stories might suppose. Instead, they’re leveraging both tools, using AI to think through what they need, and then Google to find and contact relevant local services in their area.
CraigAds surveyed West Georgia residents face-to-face in July 2026. The 62-person survey generated 5,828 local-search answers across 94 real decisions. The findings were clear: consumers aren't switching from Google to AI. Rather, they use AI to think through a need and Google to verify, find, and contact a local business.
"The real question isn't Google versus AI. It's which door people walk through first," said Craig Mcilvain, founder of CraigAds.
The study delivered several findings. The first was that the more decision-making a purchase requires, the more people rely on AI. Beauty was the most AI-searched category (24.2%) because those decisions demand comparison and differentiation — products, styles, providers — and AI is built for compare-and-contrast conversation. Meanwhile, plumbing emergencies generated opposite results. In these cases, consumers need to solve problems fast, so they go straight to Google Maps (AI searches were only 6.5% in this category) to find help.
"A burst pipe is not a conversation," Craig explained.
Another finding was that business owners are adopting AI significantly faster than everyday consumers. CraigAds field study found that local owners run inventory, scheduling, emails, and marketing through AI, while their customers still take a cursory approach.
Interestingly, rural Georgia is not significantly behind national trends. In Carroll County, 85.5% of residents have used AI to learn more about local services, and 59.7% use it daily or weekly, further evidence the technology is disseminating widely.
However, data still points to Google remaining critical for purchasing decisions. For example, the search engine captures 58.1% of leads for "your roof is leaking" and up to 74.9% for "roofing company."
Craig's own life runs ~90% AI — but local is 90% Google Maps.
"My own behavior confirms our own study," he says.
However, Craig is keen to point out that the 62-person study was small, so further research is necessary. He predicts that Google’s share of the local services search market will fall in coming years, but perhaps not as significantly as some headlines suggest.
For more information about CraigAds, use the contact details below.
Contact Info:
Name: Craig Mcilvain
Email: Send Email
Organization: CraigAds
Address: 402 Adamson Square #2 Carrollton GA 30117
Phone: 770-406-6101
Website: http://craigads.com
Release ID: 89202120
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