Regardless of your industry or the size of your business, having a complete and accurate Google Business Profile is essential.

Over the last decade, Google Business Profiles (originally launched as Google My Business) have evolved significantly. They’ve transformed from simple directory listings into critical trust signals that power Google Search, Google Maps, voice search, AI Overviews, and Gemini-powered experiences across the whole Google ecosystem.

That means your Google Business Profile influences how your brand appears in conversational search results, local recommendations, AI-generated summaries, navigation experiences, and even purchase decisions.

Let’s discuss why Google Business Profiles are so important, and how to make the most of your organisation’s online information to maximise your visibility in search.

Customer expectations have changed

Consumer behaviour has evolved significantly since Google My Business first launched back in 2014.

We’re now used to receiving instant answers for a wide range of questions about businesses. Users expect to be able to find out:

  • Whether you’re open right now 
  • How busy your location is 
  • If you have parking 
  • Whether you offer delivery or collections 
  • What other customers think about you
  • How quickly you respond 
  • What your products or services look like 
  • Whether your business feels trustworthy. 

Google understands this intent and increasingly surfaces Business Profile information before users ever visit your website. AI-assisted search is further reducing the number of clicks users make before deciding where to go.

In many cases, your Google Business Profile is the first (and sometimes only) interaction a user has with your brand.

Google Business Profiles now power AI search experiences

Google’s AI search experience has fundamentally changed how users discover local businesses.

Instead of showing a simple list of blue links, Google increasingly generates AI summaries and conversational recommendations directly in the search engine results page (SERP). These experiences pull information from multiple trusted data sources, and your Google Business Profile is among the most important of these.

When users ask Google or Gemini questions such as:

  • What’s the best coffee shop near me that’s open right now? 
  • Can you find me a highly rated emergency plumber nearby?
  • Which restaurant has outdoor seating and good vegan options? 
  • What time does this business close today? 

Google’s AI systems often use Google Business Profile data to generate answers.

This means your profile goes beyond local SEO and becomes part of Google’s AI knowledge infrastructure.

Therefore, businesses with complete, accurate, and frequently updated profiles are more likely to appear in:

  • AI Overviews 
  • Gemini-generated recommendations 
  • Google Maps suggestions 
  • Voice search results 
  • “Best nearby” recommendations 
  • Local discovery carousels 
  • Google Assistant and Android integrations. 

Of course, this also comes with the caveat that inaccurate or incomplete listings can lead to reduced visibility across all of these experiences.

Accurate opening hours are more important than ever

One of the most common reasons users search for businesses is to check opening hours and get directions.

Google Maps and Search now proactively warn users when your business is about to close, suggest quieter visiting times, and recommend alternative businesses if yours appears unavailable.

Google automatically alerts users when a business is nearing its closing time.

If your opening times are inaccurate, you risk lost footfall and frustrated customers, as well as reduced trust signals and poorer engagement metrics online.

This becomes even more important during times when your business might operate irregular opening hours, such as seasonal events or bank holidays.

AI relies on consistent business information

Google’s AI systems cross-reference data from multiple sources to validate business information.

Your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) should remain consistent across everywhere your brand appears online, including:

  • Your website 
  • Google Business Profile 
  • Social media accounts 
  • Local directories 
  • Industry listings. 

Keeping your business information consistent has always been important for avoiding user confusion, but in today’s AI-driven search environments, it also helps Google validate and trust your business data more confidently.

Reviews continue to influence visibility and trust

Online business reviews are nothing new, but they now do more than just influence potential customers. They also help Google’s AI systems understand your business’s reputation, expertise, and customer satisfaction levels.

Gemini and AI Overviews may summarise review sentiment directly within search experiences, highlighting themes such as:

  • Customer service quality 
  • Product reliability 
  • Wait times 
  • Pricing 
  • Atmosphere 
  • Expertise. 

For example, Google might generate summaries like:

“This restaurant has fast service and a range of vegetarian options.”

Or:

“Long wait times are common during weekends.”

Google frequently auto-generates brief summaries of business reviews.

Best practices for reviews in the AI era

To optimise reviews for the AI search era, businesses should:

  • Encourage genuine customer reviews 
  • Respond professionally to both positive and negative feedback – while following Google’s guidelines
  • Avoid incentivised or fake reviews 
  • Address recurring customer issues 
  • Monitor review sentiment regularly. 

Review freshness also matters. A business with recent, active customer engagement sends stronger trust signals than one with outdated reviews.

The power of photos and media in AI-powered discovery

Google increasingly uses visual content to enrich AI search experiences, so businesses with high-quality images tend to perform better in Maps engagement and local search interactions.

Google’s AI systems analyse imagery contextually to determine relevance for searches such as:

  • “Family-friendly restaurant” 
  • “Modern coworking space” 
  • “Luxury salon” 
  • “Dog-friendly café”. 

This makes visual trust signals increasingly important in local SEO. Wherever possible, your Google Business Profile should include a wide range of high-quality imagery, such as:

  • Exterior photos 
  • Interior photos 
  • Team photos 
  • Product imagery 
  • Service imagery 
  • Updated branding 
  • Videos (where relevant).

Posting business updates supports freshness signals

Posting on your Business Profile is a valuable feature that remains underutilised by many businesses.

Posting regularly helps keep your customers updated on new promotions, upcoming events and product launches, seasonal offerings, and any other business activity you’d like to share.

In AI-driven search systems, this also influences freshness and recency signals, which can improve visibility.

Knowledge panels have evolved

Knowledge panels are the boxes that appear on the right of the SERP when you search for entities (people, places, organisations, etc.) It launched back in 2012, but in more recent years, it’s become deeply integrated into Google’s AI ecosystem.

Rather than simply displaying static business information, knowledge panels increasingly include:

  • AI-generated summaries 
  • Popular customer highlights 
  • Frequently asked questions 
  • Booking integrations 
  • Product listings 
  • Review sentiment analysis 
  • Live business attributes.
Google’s knowledge panels increasingly include a wide range of frequently updated information pulled from multiple sources.

Keeping your Google Business Profile up to date can improve the accuracy and completeness of your knowledge panel across search and AI-powered experiences.

Optimising your Google Business Profile for the future

Today, Google Business Profiles are just as important for AI search as they always have been for local SEO.

As Google continues integrating Gemini and AI-generated experiences into Search and Maps, ensuring your business’s data is up to date and accurate is more important than ever.

Businesses that actively manage and maintain their profiles are better positioned to compete in increasingly AI-driven search environments.

Brands that treat their Google Business Profile as a living digital asset, rather than a one-time set-and-forget task, will be the ones most visible in the future of search.

Transform your local SEO strategy with SALT.agency

At SALT.agency, we help businesses build stronger local search visibility through technical SEO, structured data implementation, entity optimisation, and Google Business Profile management.

Get in touch today to discuss how we can help improve your local search presence in the era of AI search.