Duda study says AI-crawled sites win more local traffic

Duda has published a study claiming that websites crawled by AI systems attract more customer activity for local businesses. The analysis covered more than 850,000 websites and 69 million AI crawler visits.

According to the company, AI-crawled sites generated 320% more human traffic than sites that were not crawled. They also recorded 270% more form submissions and 250% more click-to-call events.

The findings point to a broader shift in how people discover nearby services online. Local search has long been important for small and medium-sized businesses, and Duda argues that answer engines powered by large language models are becoming a more significant part of that journey.

The study notes that more than 99% of US businesses are small to medium sized and rely heavily on local search visibility. It cites wider industry figures showing that 76% of local searches lead to same-day store visits, while 80% of US consumers search for local businesses weekly and 32% do so daily. It also points to research suggesting that 46% of all Google searches have local intent.

Duda argues that changing consumer behaviour is pushing businesses beyond traditional local search engine optimisation. Users are increasingly asking detailed questions through AI tools, such as searching for a nearby mechanic with a specific specialism, rather than using simpler keyword-based searches.

Key Factors

The study examined what may influence how often AI systems crawl certain sites. Websites with blogs, local schema, Google Business Profile synchronisation and dynamic pages were crawled 400% more than the median site built on Duda's platform.

Duda also found that content volume mattered. Each blog post was associated with a 7% increase in crawler visits, while each additional page was linked to a 4% increase.

The study describes local schema as a way to present information such as a business address and opening hours clearly, making it easier for search engines and AI crawlers to identify and classify. It adds that synchronising a Google Business Profile helps keep business details consistent across the web, while dynamically generated pages for services or locations give crawlers more structured and specific information to index.

These observations reflect a broader concern among agencies and software providers that local businesses may need to reshape their online presence as AI-generated answers become more common in consumer search experiences. Google's results pages already include AI-generated summaries, and independent AI tools are also directing users to local recommendations.

Agency Role

Duda sells website-building software to agencies, SaaS platforms and web professionals serving small businesses. It says the shift from ranking on a results page to appearing within an answer changes how agencies should advise clients on online visibility.

"For years, local visibility meant ranking on a search results page. Now it means being included in the answer itself. That's a major shift, and a big opportunity for small businesses that invest in the right foundation online," said Oded Ouaknine, chief revenue officer at Duda.

Ouaknine added that clear and consistent information will matter most as AI systems decide which businesses to surface to users.

"Local businesses that provide clear, structured, and trustworthy information online will be the ones AI platforms recommend to customers," he said.

Duda also presents the findings as a prompt for the companies that build websites and digital tools for smaller firms. In its view, agencies and SaaS providers are likely to play a central role in turning changes in search technology into practical website updates for local operators.

"This is a moment where agencies and SaaS platforms have a responsibility to lead. If we build the right tools and best practices now, we can help millions of businesses stay relevant as the web evolves," said Itai Sadan, chief executive officer and co-founder of Duda.

Duda says more than 22,000 organisations use its platform, and those customers have built 1 million active websites.