How ChatGPT & AI Agents Find the Best Local Services

When you ask ChatGPT to help you find a smog check station or book a haircut, something fascinating happens behind the scenes. The AI doesn't just make things up—it actually connects to real data sources and platforms to find accurate, actionable information.

But how does this work? And why can some AI assistants book real services while others just give generic advice? Let's dive in.

The Problem: AI Needs Structured Data

Large language models like GPT-4 and Gemini are incredibly powerful at understanding natural language. But they have a fundamental limitation: their training data has a cutoff date, and they don't have real-time access to the world.

This means an AI assistant can't inherently know:

• Which businesses are open right now
• What services cost today
• Which time slots are available
• Whether a business is still operating

To provide useful, accurate information, AI needs to connect to external data sources—and those sources need to be structured in a way AI can understand.

How AI Service Discovery Works

Here's how it works step by step:

1. Understanding User Intent

When you say "book a smog check in Montebello tomorrow morning," the AI parses this into structured elements:

2. Finding the Right Data Source

The AI identifies which platform or API can fulfill this request. For local services, it looks for platforms that:

• Have real-time availability data
• Offer structured, machine-readable responses
• Support the specific service type requested
• Cover the geographic area needed

3. Querying the Platform

The AI sends a request to the platform's API. For Lokali, this might look like:

4. Processing Results

The platform returns structured data about available providers, their services, prices, and open time slots. The AI processes this into a human-readable response.

5. Taking Action

If the platform supports it, the AI can go beyond just showing options—it can actually create a booking on the user's behalf.

What Makes Lokali AI-Ready?

Not all booking platforms work well with AI agents. Here's what makes Lokali different:

The Role of Structured Data

One of the most important elements is structured data—information formatted in a way that machines can parse and understand.

On every Lokali service page, you'll find Schema.org markup that tells AI agents exactly what the page is about:

This tells AI: "This is a smog check service, it costs $50-90, it serves California, and you can book it through this API."

Why This Matters for You

For Consumers

As AI assistants become your primary way to book services, the experience will be seamless. Just describe what you need in natural language, and AI will handle the rest—finding options, comparing prices, checking availability, and booking.

For Businesses

If you're a service provider, being on an AI-ready platform like Lokali means reaching customers through every AI channel. When someone asks ChatGPT for a "smog check near me," you want your business to appear in those results.

"The businesses that win in the next decade will be the ones AI agents recommend. Being on platforms built for AI discovery isn't optional—it's essential."

The Future of AI Booking

We're still in the early days. Today, AI can find and recommend services. Soon, it will:

• Negotiate prices on your behalf
• Manage your entire service calendar
• Predict what services you'll need before you ask
• Handle complaints and rebooking automatically

At Lokali, we're building for this future. Every feature we add considers not just human users, but the AI agents that will increasingly act on their behalf.