45%
of consumers have used AI tools for local business recommendations, up from 6%
BrightLocal Local Consumer Review Survey, February 2026, n=1,002 opt-in panel
25%
of local business sites let a customer book online
Picked by Agents live sample, 236 sites in Dallas and Phoenix, September 2026
90%
of the businesses AI assistants picked were named from their own site
Picks Index, 729 first picks across 139 markets, September 2026
What each of us actually does
Podium describes a 24/7 AI Employee for local businesses that responds to leads, qualifies them, books appointments and reactivates past customers. Podium Reviews automates review invites and reminders on Google and Facebook, with an AI Reputation Specialist that writes invites and replies. It names auto dealerships, home services, aesthetics and wellness, and retail, and says over 60,000 businesses trust it. Its pricing page shows no prices and asks you to talk to sales.
Picked by Agents monitors the questions that decide your customers' choice, on the assistants in our research network, including Meta Muse and Instinct. Monitoring is $79 a month, month to month. Each monthly pick report quotes the assistant, names the business it chose and records the reason it gave. White glove programs, where we make the changes, are optional.
Where the two approaches part
- 01
After the lead vs before it
Podium handles the customer who already called, texted or filled a form. We look at whether the assistant sent that customer to you at all.
- 02
Your AI vs their AI
Podium's AI Employee talks for your business. The assistants we monitor talk for the customer, and they choose who gets the call.
- 03
Reviews vs the deciding fact
Reviews matter to assistants. So do the facts they look for on your site, like a price, an opening and a booking path. Only 25% of local sites in our sample let a customer book online.
When Podium is the better choice
If leads already come in and slip through because nobody answers fast enough, or you need more reviews, Podium solves that and we do not. If the phone is quiet because the assistants name a competitor, we show you why.
Adding us beside Podium
There is nothing to move. Keep Podium answering leads. Tell us the services you sell, the competitors you lose to and the places you serve, using the location field on the report form. We turn those into the questions your customers ask the assistants.
The free first report shows which business each assistant named, quoted, with the reason. That becomes the baseline for monthly monitoring. If a booking path is what the assistants could not find, our optional programs can rebuild it so an agent can finish it.
Podium vs Picked by Agents
| Podium | Picked by Agents | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An AI Employee for leads, booking and reviews | AI visibility monitoring, with optional done for you work |
| Price | Not shown, talk to sales | $79 a month, month to month |
| Where it works | After a customer contacts you | Before, when the customer asks an assistant who to call |
| AI search visibility | Not described on the pages we read | The core of the product |
| Guarantee | None stated on the pages we read | Named in 90 days or we work free, on the programs |
| Built for | Local businesses, from single shops to enterprise | Local business owners and the agencies serving them |
Questions we get asked
Is Picked by Agents a Podium alternative?
- No. Podium answers and books the customers who reach you. We monitor whether the AI assistants send customers to you in the first place. Many businesses would use both.
Does Podium help me get recommended by AI assistants?
- The Podium pages we read do not describe AI search visibility. Its review tools may help, since assistants read reviews, but the pages we read make no claim about assistants.
Can an assistant book through Podium?
- We have not tested that, so we will not claim it. Our reports record whether an assistant could find a way to book you, and stop short of saying anything was booked.
Where do your facts about Podium come from?
- Its home page, pricing page and Reviews product page, read in October 2026. The 45% is from BrightLocal's published survey, and the 25% and 90% from our live sample and Picks Index. If Podium changes its products, tell us and we will correct this page.
Your free report
See whether the assistants send customers your way.
The first pick report is free and becomes your monitoring baseline. If your gap is answering leads, Podium is the better first buy, and we will say so.
- 01We read your site and work out what your customers ask an assistant for.
- 02We run the top assistants on those requests in your area.
- 03You get where you rank, whether they would book you and why, and what to change first.