---
name: looot-local-business-search
description: Find local businesses. Use when the user says things like "find coffee shops in Austin", "list dentists near this address with their phone numbers" or "build a list of gyms in Lisbon". Runs through looot, billed per call.
---

# Find local businesses

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.

This skill needs the looot skill set up first: https://looot.ai/skill.md

## Ask for these inputs

The job takes a business type and a location. Example: coffee shops in Austin, USA.

- The business type
- The location
- How many results

## Run it

1. Find the endpoint: `looot discover --mode auto --query "local business search"`. The endpoints listed below are the known matches.
2. Read the price and the input schema before spending: `looot inspect <endpoint-id>`. Tell the user the price, then run.
3. Run it: `looot run anyapi-run-maps-search --input '{"query":"coffee shop","location":"Austin, USA"}' --idempotency-key <new-key> --wait`. Reuse the same key only to retry the same request.
4. Read the run's `status` and `error`, not the HTTP status. A run can return `failed` with a normal response.
5. If a run fails with a provider error or times out, try the next endpoint from the list below, cheapest first. If it fails on your input (a 4xx style error), fix the input. Do not retry it on other providers.

## Endpoints

Each endpoint reads the same job from a different provider. They differ in inputs, fields and price. Run `looot inspect` on the ones that take the input you hold, start with the cheapest, and move to the next on a provider error.

- `anyapi-run-maps-search`: returns up to 20 normalized places per request with ratings, addresses and contact basics, and filters by category words, minimum stars and website
- `anysite-api-google-maps-places-search`: searches by text with optional latitude, longitude and zoom, returns name, address, rating, categories and GPS, and bills per result
- `searchapi-io-google-maps`: returns local businesses with ratings, reviews and contact details, with a coordinate parameter and paging
- `dataforseo-google-maps-advanced`: returns Google Maps results in the advanced format, as live tasks

## 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.

## Before you start

- Give a location with the search. A city and a country work best. For a map area, send coordinates and a zoom on the providers that take them.
- Filter early. A minimum star rating or a website requirement cuts the list before you pay to enrich it.
- Plan the next call. A place found here can go to the reviews endpoint, or to a person search for the owner.

## Cost rules

- Searching and inspecting are free. Running is billed per call at the price `looot inspect` shows.
- Say the price before the first run, and the total after a batch.
- Never loop a failing call. Stop after two failures and report what failed.

## When not to use this skill

Use `looot-google-maps-reviews` instead when you already have a place and want to read its reviews.

Page for people: https://looot.ai/agent-skills/local-business-search