Local pack
The local pack is the map and short list of nearby businesses Google shows for searches with a local intent.
The local pack is the block of map results Google shows for searches with a place in them. It's a small map with pins, and a short list of businesses underneath, usually three, each with its rating, hours and a link to call or get directions. Search "bakery near me" and it's often the first thing you see.
For a business people visit in person, the local pack can bring more calls and visits than the ordinary results below it.
How Google picks the businesses
The listings come from Google Business Profiles, the free listings businesses manage on Google. Google says it ranks local results mainly on relevance, distance and how well known the business is, and explains each in its tips on local ranking. You can't pay to rank higher in the free listings, though ads can appear above or within them.
So getting in comes down to a complete, accurate business profile, reviews, and being mentioned and listed consistently across the web.
For example, say someone in Leeds searches "coffee roaster near me." Kestrel Roasters has a full profile, 140 reviews and the right category, and it's 2 miles away. A rival 1 mile closer has no photos, no hours and a different address on its website. Kestrel is more likely to make the pack, even though it's further away.
The local pack and AI answers
The local pack is a Google Search feature. AI platforms answer local questions in their own way, often as a short list of names with a line about each. They don't all draw on the same data, and they don't say exactly where it comes from. What does help across all of them is the work that gets you into the pack: an accurate profile, matching listings, reviews and local mentions.
In AnswerOrbit
We don't track the local pack. To see what AI platforms say when someone nearby asks, add a market for a city, or in the US a state, in Settings, and ask your local prompts from there.