# Find local businesses: agent skill

Local business search API for an agent: it sends a business type and a location to a catalog endpoint and reads business name, address and coordinates back. Several providers sell the call, so the agent tries the cheapest first. You pay per call, and a failed call costs nothing.

## When it starts

- find coffee shops in Austin
- list dentists near this address with their phone numbers
- build a list of gyms in Lisbon

## What it asks for

- The business type
- The location
- How many results

## How it runs

- looot discover finds the endpoint
- looot inspect shows the price and the input schema
- looot run executes it, billed per call
- Endpoints in order: anyapi-run-maps-search, anysite-api-google-maps-places-search, searchapi-io-google-maps, dataforseo-google-maps-advanced

## What comes back

- Business name
- Address and coordinates
- Rating and review count
- Category
- Website and phone

## Answer rule

Return name, address, rating, review count, website and phone as a table, and say how many were found.

## Install

Save the skill file as /agent-skills/local-business-search/SKILL.md, or tell your agent: set up looot, then use /agent-skills/local-business-search/SKILL.md.

## Difficulty

easy

## How do I find local businesses by keyword and location?

Send a business type and a place to a Maps search endpoint. Your agent returns the businesses with their rating, address and contact details, ready to put in a sheet.

## Can I filter by rating or by website?

On the provider that supports it, yes. One endpoint takes a minimum star rating and a website filter, which saves you from paying to enrich weak leads.

## How many businesses does one search return?

Up to 20 on one provider and a page at a time on the others. Your agent pages through more, and each call is billed.

## Can I get the phone number and website?

When the business lists them on Maps, the provider returns them with the place. Some providers return only the basics, so check the endpoint page for the fields.

## Can I search an area, not a city?

Two providers take coordinates, and one adds a zoom level. Send the center of the area and the zoom that covers it.

## How much does one search cost?

You pay per call, and the price depends on the provider your agent picks. This page reads the cheapest live price from the catalog and shows no number when the catalog is unreachable.