Knowledge
The local pack
The local pack is the block of three businesses with a map shown at the top of Google results for searches with local intent.
Where it comes from
Three groups of factors decide who appears: distance from the searcher, how well the profile matches the query, and the prominence of the business. Reviews affect the third — their number, their freshness and whether the business replies.
What it means in practice
Google publishes no weights and nobody can reliably reconstruct them, so any promise of a "guaranteed spot in the three" is invented. The things that genuinely depend on the business are dull and effective: a complete profile, current hours, collecting reviews systematically without selection, and answering every negative one.