Google Business Profile in the AI era: a checklist

By Viz Score AI · October 25, 2026

Your Google Business Profile used to be mainly about showing up in the map pack. It still is, but it's now also one of the most important inputs into how AI tools describe your business. Google's AI Overviews and Gemini draw on Google's own business data, and other assistants frequently pick up the same details through maps and listings. An incomplete or outdated profile means AI may describe you incompletely or not at all.

This checklist walks through the profile in order. Work through it once thoroughly, then revisit it every few months.

Before you start: make sure you control the profile

Search for your business on Google Maps and confirm the profile is claimed and verified under an account you (not a former employee or agency) control.
Add at least one backup owner or manager so you're never locked out.
Check for duplicate profiles (common after a move or rebrand). If you find one, request that it be merged or removed through Google's support tools.

Business name

Use your real-world business name exactly as it appears on your signage, website and paperwork.
Don't add keywords or locations ("Smith Plumbing Best Emergency Plumber Newark"). It breaks Google's guidelines and can get the profile suspended.
Make sure it matches the name on your website and other listings character for character.

Address and service area

If customers come to you, show your address and make sure the map pin is placed correctly.
If you go to customers (plumbers, cleaners, mobile groomers), set service areas and hide the address if you don't serve people there.
List service areas as the towns or regions you really cover, not every city within 100 miles.

Hours

Set regular hours accurately, including lunch closures if you have them.
Add holiday and special hours ahead of time. Wrong hours are one of the most frustrating errors for customers, and AI tools repeat whatever hours they find.
Use "more hours" for things like delivery, senior hours, or after-hours emergency lines where relevant.

Phone, website and links

Use a local or main business number that matches your website.
Link to the most relevant page of your website (usually the homepage or a location page, not a random blog post).
Add appointment, booking or menu links if your category supports them.

Description

You get 750 characters. Use them to state plainly:

What you do and your main specialties
Who you serve and where
What makes you different in concrete terms (same-day service, languages spoken, years in business, certifications)

Write it for a person, not for an algorithm. No keyword lists, no links, no promotions.

Services and products

Add every service you actually offer, using the words customers use, with a short description for each.
Add prices or "from" prices if you're comfortable; customers ask assistants about cost all the time.
For retail or restaurants, add products or menu items with photos.

This section is underused, and it gives AI tools a structured list of exactly what you do.

Attributes

Attributes are the small yes/no details: wheelchair accessible, women-owned, veteran-owned, online appointments, onsite services, languages, payment types and more. Go through every attribute available for your category and set the accurate ones. Customers ask questions like "wheelchair-accessible dentist near me," and these fields help answer them.

Photos and videos

Add a clear logo and cover photo.
Add real photos of your storefront (so people can find you), interior, team and finished work.
Keep adding a few new photos periodically. Avoid stock images.

Reviews

Share your direct review link (found in your profile) by text or email after each job or visit.
Ask customers to mention the specific service they got.
Reply to every review, positive and negative, within a few days. Keep replies short, specific and professional.
Never buy reviews, gate them (only asking happy customers), or offer incentives. These break Google's policies.

Questions, posts and messaging

Watch for questions in your profile's Q&A area if your profile shows it, and answer them yourself so the answer is accurate.
Use posts occasionally to share updates, seasonal offers or events. They also show the profile is actively maintained.
If you turn on messaging, make sure someone responds quickly; otherwise leave it off.

Keep it consistent with the rest of the web

Your Google profile shouldn't be the only place with accurate information. Check that your name, address, phone and hours match on:

Your website
Apple Business Connect and Bing Places
Yelp, Facebook and key industry directories

AI assistants compare sources. Agreement across them builds confidence; disagreement creates doubt.

A quick monthly routine

Check that hours, phone and website link are still correct.
Reply to any new reviews.
Add a few new photos.
Answer any new questions.
Look at Google's suggested edits; sometimes the public or Google proposes changes to your profile, and you'll want to accept or reject them.

How to see the effect

Google's own performance insights in your profile show searches, calls and direction requests. For AI specifically, ask Gemini and Google's AI Mode the questions your customers would ask and see whether you're named and described correctly. Then try ChatGPT and Perplexity too, since they may use different sources.

No checklist can guarantee a placement, because AI answers vary by question and change over time. But a complete, accurate, actively maintained profile is one of the most reliable foundations you can build. If you want to see how assistants currently describe your business, our free Viz Score check runs those questions for you and shows what they say and where they're getting it.