A BrightLocal alternative that tracks Maps, AI Overviews and AI Mode from one grid
BrightLocal is a broad local SEO toolkit priced in location bands, and its AI visibility tracker, announced in September 2026, covers ChatGPT, AI Overviews and AI Mode. If you are weighing a switch, the useful question is not which tool lists more features. It is how much each one can tell you at every point on the map and in every AI answer, and what it lets you do about it.
The short answer
SearchOps or BrightLocal?
SearchOps fits if
- You want one grid to show your Google Maps position, whether you are in the local pack, whether an AI Overview appears and cites you, and whether AI Mode names you, at the same points.
- You need Gemini as well as ChatGPT, checked every week by service, with the businesses named instead of you and the sites each answer cites.
- You edit clients' Business Profiles and want every change approved before it goes to Google, with an undo.
BrightLocal fits if
- Citation building and data aggregator submissions are part of the service you sell.
- You send review requests by email or SMS, or publish reviews on websites.
- You track Bing, or organic rankings on desktop and mobile.
- You want white-label reports on a small plan, or a 14-day trial before you commit.
Using both
Some agencies keep BrightLocal for citation building, which it sells pay as you go, and run tracking, profiles and client reports in SearchOps.
Side by side
SearchOps and BrightLocal, feature by feature
| Feature | SearchOps | BrightLocal |
|---|---|---|
| Map grids | ||
| Grid sizes | SearchOpsUp to 21×21 on Pro and Agency, 15×15 on Starter | BrightLocal3×3, 5×5, 7×7, 11×11 or 15×15Source: BrightLocal's Local Search Grid page |
| What each point shows | SearchOpsYour Google Maps position. On Google Search, whether you are in the local pack's top 3 and whether an AI Overview appears and cites you. On AI Mode, whether you are named. | BrightLocalYour local ranking at each point, side by side with any competitorSource: BrightLocal's Local Search Grid page |
| BrightLocal's grid page doesn't name the Google result each point reads, so we haven't assumed one. | ||
| Keywords on the grid | SearchOpsAs many as you like, paid in scan credits: one a point on Google Maps, two on Google Search and AI Mode | BrightLocalUp to five per locationSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Schedules | SearchOpsDaily, weekly, every two weeks or monthly | BrightLocalWeekly or monthly, or run by handSource: BrightLocal's rank tracking page |
| AI answers | ||
| Engines | SearchOpsChatGPT and Gemini by prompt. AI Overviews and AI Mode across the map grid. | BrightLocalChatGPT, AI Overviews and AI ModeSource: BrightLocal's announcement of its Local AI Visibility tracker, dated 10 September 2026 |
| How often | SearchOpsWeekly, every two weeks or monthly | BrightLocalTwice a month for each locationSource: BrightLocal's announcement of its Local AI Visibility tracker, dated 10 September 2026 |
| Prompts | SearchOpsGrouped by the services each business sells, from a monthly pool of checks (6,000 on Agency, 3,000 on Pro) | BrightLocalUp to 20 per location, included in every planSource: BrightLocal's announcement of its Local AI Visibility tracker, dated 10 September 2026 |
| What you see | SearchOpsWhether you are named, who is named instead, share of voice, and the sites each answer cites | BrightLocalMentions, share of voice, sources, competitor performance and a visibility scoreSource: BrightLocal's announcement of its Local AI Visibility tracker, dated 10 September 2026 |
| Google Business Profile | ||
| Profile edits | SearchOpsHours, categories, services, attributes, description, photos and more, edited from SearchOps. Each change is approved first, can be undone, and is held if Google's value changed in the meantime. | BrightLocalActive Sync keeps business details synced across key sites, on Manage and GrowSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Posts | SearchOpsPublish now or schedule, to one profile or several, on every plan | BrightLocalScheduled posts on Manage and GrowSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Profile audit | SearchOpsAbout 30 checks with published point values. Up to five rivals from your latest Google Maps scan are scored out of 100 on the checks their public listings show. | BrightLocalBusiness Profile audit and benchmarking on every planSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Reviews and listings | ||
| Review sites | SearchOpsGoogle on every plan. Trustpilot and Tripadvisor on Pro and Agency. | BrightLocalMonitoring and replies across multiple sites, on GrowSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Review requests | SearchOpsNot offered | BrightLocalBy email, SMS and in-store campaigns, on GrowSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Citations | SearchOpsChecks each branch's listings field by field. Doesn't build or submit listings. | BrightLocalCitation tracking on every plan. Citation Builder is pay as you go, from $2 a site with bulk credits.Source: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Agency and price | ||
| White-label reports | SearchOpsAgency plan: your logo, colours and report sub-domain | BrightLocalEvery paid plan: your logo and coloursSource: BrightLocal's page for agencies |
| Team access | SearchOpsUnlimited team members on Agency. Starter and Pro are for one user. | BrightLocalTeam members with permission levels. Seat numbers aren't published.Source: BrightLocal's page for agencies |
| Price for 11 to 20 locations | SearchOps$249 a month on Agency. $99 on Pro if you don't need white-label or a team. | BrightLocal$104 on Track, $153 on Manage, $197 on Grow, a monthSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Monthly billing. BrightLocal's annual billing works out at $78, $115 and $148 a month. SearchOps annual billing charges 10 months for 12. | ||
| Currency | SearchOps7 currencies, including pounds (£29, £79 and £199 a month) and US dollars | BrightLocalUS dollarsSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
| Trying it first | SearchOpsA live demo on a sample business, and trials for agencies on request | BrightLocal14 days, no card neededSource: BrightLocal's pricing page |
Price the job
The same job, priced both ways
An agency with 20 client locations tracks five keywords each on a 7×7 grid every week, replies to reviews, posts to the profiles, and sends reports in its own branding to a team of more than one. Change the numbers to price your own case.
SearchOps
$249a month
The Agency plan.
35,000 scan credits a month cover 21,234 points, leaving 13,766 for Google Search or AI Mode grids. Up to 200 locations.
BrightLocal
$197a month
Grow, 11 to 20 locations, billed monthly.
BrightLocal prices by plan and number of locations. Its pages publish no points limit for the grid, so this price doesn't change with grid size or schedule.
- BrightLocal's price includes its AI tracker: up to 20 prompts a location, checked twice a month. SearchOps' includes its monthly ChatGPT and Gemini checks (6,000 on Agency), and spare scan credits run Google Search and AI Mode grids.
- Both are monthly list prices as each company publishes them. BrightLocal's annual billing is about 25% lower; SearchOps' annual billing charges 10 months for 12. BrightLocal's pay-as-you-go citation building isn't included.
- SearchOps' prices here are the US dollar prices on its pricing page (£29, £79 and £199 a month in pounds). Checkout shows the exact amount in your currency.
What's different
What SearchOps does differently
One grid, three Google surfaces
See the map, the local pack and Google's AI answers at the same points
A Google Maps scan gives your position at each point, out of the top 20. Run the same grid on Google Search and each point also shows whether you are in the local pack's top three and whether an AI Overview appears and cites you. Run it on AI Mode and each point shows whether Google's AI answer names you. Same grid, same points, so the three line up street by street.
- Google Maps: one credit a point, grids up to 21×21
- Google Search: the local pack and AI Overviews, two credits a point
- AI Mode: named or not named, never a position, up to 9×9 in the US, UK and India
One point on a 7×7 grid
- Google MapsPosition 3 of the top 20
- Google SearchIn the local pack's top 3. AI Overview shown, cites the clinic.
- AI ModeNamed in the answer
ChatGPT and Gemini
Every week, by service, with the sources behind each answer
Prompts are grouped under the services a business sells, and every prompt goes to both ChatGPT and Gemini. For each answer you see whether the business is named, who is named instead and which sites the answer cites, so you know where the evidence behind a recommendation lives and what to work on.
- Weekly, every two weeks or monthly, by hand or on a schedule
- Share of voice against the businesses named alongside you
- The sites each answer cites, gathered across every prompt
One prompt, two engines
"Which dentist in Leeds can see me today for a broken tooth?"
- ChatGPTNamedalongside 2 other practices
- GeminiNot namednames 3 others instead
Sites cited across both answers: the clinic's own site, a review site and a local directory.
Google Business Profile
Change a client's profile without opening Google, and undo it if you need to
Edit hours, categories, services, attributes, the description and photos from SearchOps. Each change waits for approval before it goes to Google, can be undone afterwards, and is held back if the value on Google changed in the meantime. Posts and review replies sit in the same place, and the profile audit scores about 30 checks for the business, then up to five rivals from your latest Google Maps scan, scored out of 100 on the checks their public listings show.
- Approve first, then publish
- Undo any change you made
- Audit against up to five rivals
A change waiting for approval
Saturday opening hours
9:00 to 13:009:00 to 15:00
Published changes keep an Undo.
Proof for clients
Call it a gain only when it's bigger than the normal swing
Grid results move a little between runs even when nothing has changed. SearchOps marks a change as a real gain or drop only when it is larger than that swing, and turns a real gain into a verified before and after picture your client can check for themselves.
- Real gains, not run-to-run noise
- Verified before and after pictures on every paid plan
- White-label reports and your own report address on Agency
Before and after, one keyword
Before
12 of 49
points in the Maps top 3
After
27 of 49
points in the Maps top 3
When BrightLocal fits better
Where BrightLocal is the better choice
BrightLocal covers parts of local SEO that SearchOps deliberately leaves out. If these are central to your work, it is the stronger fit.
Citation building
BrightLocal builds citations and submits to data aggregators, pay as you go. SearchOps checks listings but doesn't build or submit them.
Review requests
Grow sends review requests by email and SMS and runs in-store campaigns. SearchOps monitors reviews and drafts replies, but doesn't send requests.
Bing and organic rankings
BrightLocal tracks Bing and organic rankings on desktop and mobile. SearchOps retired website rank tracking and doesn't track Bing; for your own site's rankings it reads Search Console.
White-label on a small budget
White-label reports come with every BrightLocal plan, and one location starts at $41 a month. SearchOps white-label starts on the Agency plan.
A trial before you pay
BrightLocal offers 14 days with no card. SearchOps has a live demo on a sample business, and sets up trials for agencies on request.
Switching
Moving from BrightLocal
A switch is mostly setup: bringing locations and keywords across, connecting the profiles you manage and setting schedules.
- 01
Gather what you track
List each client's business details and the keywords you track, in a spreadsheet if you can. BrightLocal's help centre lists the exports your plan offers.
- 02
Add locations in bulk
Upload your locations to SearchOps as a CSV file. Each one is matched to its Google listing.
- 03
Bring your keywords across
Paste keywords or import them from Excel or CSV, grouped under each business's services.
- 04
Connect the profiles you manage
Sign in with Google to connect the Business Profiles you manage. Tracking any other business, a rival or a prospect, needs no connection.
- 05
Run both for one reporting cycle
Set your schedules, then compare the trend rather than single numbers. Two tools place their grid points differently, run at different times and read results in their own way, so individual points rarely match.
- 06
Cancel at the end of your billing period
BrightLocal says that after you cancel, your account and reports are kept but stop updating with new data.
FAQ
SearchOps and BrightLocal. Questions we get
Method
How we compared
We read BrightLocal's own public pages on 24 October 2026 and took its facts from them, naming the page beside each one. Its prices are the monthly list prices it publishes, in the currency it publishes them in. Plans compared: SearchOps Agency ($249 a month) and BrightLocal Grow for 11 to 20 locations ($197 a month), both billed monthly.
- BrightLocal's pricing page, checked 24 October 2026
- BrightLocal's Local Search Grid page, checked 24 October 2026
- BrightLocal's announcement of its Local AI Visibility tracker, dated 10 September 2026, checked 24 October 2026
- BrightLocal's page for agencies, checked 24 October 2026
- BrightLocal's rank tracking page, checked 24 October 2026
SearchOps facts come from our pricing page and Help Centre, with prices in the currency shown there. Checkout shows the exact amount in your currency.
Features and prices change. Spotted something out of date? Email info@searchops.co and we'll check it and correct this page within five working days.
Changes to this page
- 25 October 2026: Published.
BrightLocal is a trademark of its owner. SearchOps is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by BrightLocal.