Local Memo: Google Sees ChatGPT Threat, New Visibility Boost for Restaurants, Goodbye ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’?

Damian Rollison

Summary

In this week's update: Google acknowledges the competitive threat of ChatGPT, rolls out a new "What's Happening" feature benefiting restaurants, and tests replacing the iconic "I’m Feeling Lucky" button with an "AI Mode" button.

Google Admits AI Threat from ChatGPT

The News An internal Google document, revealed during the recent Department of Justice trial (decision expected soon), indicates Google’s strategy is shifting in response to the growing threat posed by AI tools like ChatGPT. In a meeting held in October, Google executives agreed that declining market share for traditional search is “inevitable,” and emphasized the importance of pushing users toward Google’s own AI offering, Gemini, to maintain their market position.

Executives are considering monetizing Gemini with ads and exploring integrated shopping experiences—echoing recent moves by competitors like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

What This Means Google’s acknowledgement underscores a significant transformation in user behavior towards AI-driven platforms, marking a potential shift toward a “post-search” era. Younger consumers are particularly adopting AI and social media alternatives rapidly, highlighting an ongoing evolution in local discovery and consumer engagement.

As we highlighted in our recent Consumer Behavior Index for 2025, U.S. consumers still favor Google and other search engines as platforms for local search and discovery, but younger users in particular are turning to social media and AI tools as alternatives, with AI usage growing fastest.

New “What’s Happening” Feature Boosts Visibility for Restaurants

The News Google has broadly released its “What’s Happening” feature, enhancing visibility for restaurant posts within Google Business Profiles (GBP). The feature prominently showcases timely updates, events, and offers at the bottom of mobile profiles during direct brand searches. It also integrates content from linked social profiles like Facebook, Instagram, and X.

Currently, this feature is exclusively available to single-location food and beverage businesses in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, with expansion plans for chains in the works.

What This Means Restaurants and food businesses should actively leverage Google Posts and connected social profiles to maximize local engagement and visibility. This new feature underscores Google’s commitment to enhancing local business visibility and user engagement directly within search results. Our own work has shown that these social profile connections can drive significant traffic to a business’s listing on Google.

Image courtesy of Google

Google Tests Replacing “I’m Feeling Lucky” Button with AI Mode

The News Google is reportedly testing a replacement of its longstanding “I’m Feeling Lucky” button with an “AI Mode” button, according to The Verge. Clicking the new button would take users directly into Google’s AI-powered search interface, currently available only as an experimental feature in Google Labs.

Image courtesy of Glenn Gabe

What This Means While seemingly minor, replacing the iconic “I’m Feeling Lucky” button symbolizes a significant shift toward an AI-focused future for Google. This experimental change could soon redefine how users interact with Google’s search, underscoring the strategic importance Google is placing on AI integration.