What happened to Google Business Profile Q&A, and what to do now

For years, Google Business Profiles had a public Questions & Answers section where anyone could ask a question and anyone, including the business, could answer it. That section is being replaced. Customers now ask their question in Google Maps and get an AI-generated answer instead of scrolling through old questions.

What changed, and when

• September 17, 2025: Google announced that the Q&A API (which tools and agencies used to manage questions) would be discontinued.
• November 3, 2025: the Q&A API was shut down.
• December 3, 2025: Google confirmed that Q&A is being replaced by an "Ask" feature in Maps.

Google said customers will be able to ask a question and get "an updated, instant answer based on your answers and relevant reviews", and explained that it had become harder for customers to wade through all the questions as the feature grew (PPC Land).

Where the AI answers come from

According to Google's announcement, the answers draw on information the business has provided and on relevant reviews (PPC Land). In practice, that means two things matter more than ever:

• Your profile details: hours, services, menu or products, attributes and your description.
• What your customers say in reviews, and how you reply to them.

If your profile says you have a patio but three recent reviews complain there isn't one, you can't control which answer a customer gets. Accurate details and consistent reviews give the AI less to get wrong.

What to do now

1. Complete every field you can. Services, products or menu, attributes like parking, accessibility, payment options and booking, and an accurate description.
2. Answer the questions customers ask most, in your profile and on your website. Parking, reservations, dietary options, prices, wait times, insurance, booking policies: put clear answers where Google can read them. An FAQ section on your website helps here too.
3. Reply to reviews with useful details. A reply like "Yes, we have free parking behind the building" adds accurate information, not just a thank-you.
4. Keep hours and holiday hours current. "Are you open?" is the question customers ask most.
5. Check what Maps says about you. Search for your business in Maps every month and try the questions your customers would ask. If an answer is wrong, fix the source: your profile, your website or the issue customers keep raising in reviews.
6. Answer customer questions when Google surfaces them. Google said businesses can still respond to aggregated customer questions, which helps answer others asking something similar (PPC Land).

The bottom line

You no longer get to write the answer to each question directly. Instead, the quality of your profile and your reviews decides what customers hear. That rewards businesses that keep their profile complete and current, which is exactly what we focus on in our Google Business Profile management.