Monday Marketing Rundown - 4/20/26: Google's AI is Replacing the Local Pack

In this week's Monday Marketing Rundown, Dan breaks down one of the most significant shifts in local search visibility that dental practices have faced in years — and why your Google calls may be declining even if your rankings look perfectly healthy.

For a long time, the formula was simple: rank in the top three of Google's Map Pack, get the calls. That's changing. Google is now rolling out an AI-powered local pack that replaces the traditional three-listing format with a curated, AI-generated result set — one that often shows only one or two businesses, and in many cases, removes the direct call button entirely. That means more friction between a searching patient and your front desk, and fewer practices making it into the visible results at all.

As Dan explains, the good news is that high-intent searches like "dentist near me" and "orthodontist near me" still favor the map pack — but the practices that earn those spots are the ones Google's AI has identified as the most complete, active, and trustworthy. In this episode, Dan walks through exactly what that means in practice: auditing your Google Business Profile for completeness, building a consistent review cadence, and making sure patients can book directly from your listing. Watch the full video to see where your practice may have gaps — and what to do about them.

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