The AI Discovery Illusion: Why Google Still Owns the Customer

AI Visibility Podcast | Jason AI Wade with Mike Blumenthal AI is changing how consumers find businesses. But finding a business and choosing one are two very different things. Jason AI Wade welcomes Mike Blumenthal, co-founder of Near Media and the local-search expert known as “Professor Maps,” for a conversation about what's actually happening as artificial intelligence enters the customer discovery process. Mike shares research indicating that consumer use of AI for local business discovery jumped from 9% in 2025 to 52% in 2026. Yet AI isn't necessarily where purchasing decisions happen. Consumers move between AI, Google Search, maps, reviews, recommendations, and advertising before making a decision. The conversation challenges several assumptions about AI visibility. Google's advertising dominance is growing, local search remains essential, and the traditional customer acquisition funnel is far more complicated than most marketers acknowledge. They also explore the economics of Google's search results, fraudulent business listings, and why understanding consumer behavior matters more than obsessing over rankings. The central question: If AI introduces your business but Google captures the final decision, who actually owns the customer relationship? Mike Blumenthal is co-founder of Near Media and a longtime authority on local search, Google Maps, business reviews, and consumer discovery. Known as “Professor Maps,” he has studied Google's local-search ecosystem since 2005. Jason T Wade is the founder of BackTier and an AI Visibility Architect helping businesses become discovered, correctly understood, cited, included, and recommended across AI systems. His work focuses on AI SEO, GEO, AEO, entity architecture, and the infrastructure behind AI-generated recommendations. Near Media: https://www.nearmedia.co Mike Blumenthal: https://www.blumenthals.com BackTier: https://backtier.com Jason Wade: https://jasonwade.com AI Visibility Podcast — Produced by BackTier Media. Guest: Mike BlumenthalHost: Jason AI WadeLinks