Google Business Profile Q&A, where anyone could post a question on your listing and anyone could answer, has been replaced by answers generated in Google Maps. In December 2025 Google said customers would ask their question in Maps and get an instant answer based on the business's answers and relevant reviews. Owners would answer grouped questions instead of each one. Google had already shut down the Q&A API on 3 November 2025. Since March 2026, Google's Gemini-powered Ask Maps has answered questions about places in Maps, starting in the US and India.
This guide is part of our Google Business Profile guide for Indian businesses.
How Google Business Profile Q&A used to work
For years, every Business Profile had a public Questions and answers section. Anyone could:
- ask a question ("Is there parking?", "Do you do bridal mehendi?");
- answer a question, whether they were the owner, a customer or a stranger;
- upvote answers.
Local SEO agencies often told owners to "seed" Q&A by asking and answering their own common questions. The section also attracted spam and wrong answers from strangers, and many owners never saw the questions at all.
What Google actually changed
The change happened in steps. Only Google's own statements are summarised here.
1. The Q&A API shut down (3 November 2025)
Google's developer sunset page lists the My Business Q&A API as discontinued on 3 November 2025. Support ended on 15 September 2025, and the replacement column says "None" (Google for Developers). Developers were told to stop using the Q&A methods and the new question and answer notifications.
What that means for you: no third-party tool, including BeeCMO, can read or answer Business Profile questions for you any more.
2. Google announced changes to the Q&A feature (3 December 2025)
On 3 December 2025, a Google Community Manager posted "A heads up about the upcoming changes to the Q&A feature" in the Google Business Profile Community (Google Business Profile Community). In short, Google said:
- As Q&A grew, it got harder for customers to find timely answers to their specific question.
- Customers would ask their question directly in Google Maps and get an updated, instant answer, based on the business's answers and relevant reviews.
- Instead of answering many separate questions that go stale, owners could answer aggregated questions, and those answers would help respond to similar questions in Maps.
- Business Profile users could continue to answer existing questions in the Q&A section of their profile. Published questions and answers would keep feeding Google's understanding of the business and might be shown in Maps.
Google hasn't published a dated help article listing exactly where and when the old public Q&A section was removed. Local SEO practitioners have reported that the "Ask a question" button disappeared from some profiles in December 2025 (Local Search Forum). That's practitioner reporting, not a Google statement.
3. Ask Maps launched (12 March 2026)
On 12 March 2026, Google announced Ask Maps, a conversational way to ask Google Maps complex questions about places, built on Gemini models (Google blog, India). According to Google:
- It started rolling out in the US and India on Android and iOS, with desktop to follow (Google blog).
- In India it launched in English, with Hindi support coming later.
- It draws on information about more than 300 million places and reviews from Google Maps contributors.
Google's Maps help centre now also describes Ask Maps on desktop. The same page says AI answers "can sometimes be incorrect" and advises checking important information in more than one place (Google Maps Help).
Old Q&A vs the new setup
| Old Q&A | Now | |
|---|---|---|
| Who asks | Anyone, publicly on the profile | Customers ask in Google Maps |
| Who answers | Owner, customers, anyone | Google generates the answer |
| Sources | Whatever people typed | Your answers, relevant reviews and other information Google has |
| Owner's role | Answer each question | Answer grouped questions in your profile; keep details accurate |
| API access for tools | Yes, until 3 November 2025 | None |
What to do now
You can't write the AI's answer, but you control most of what it reads. A practical list:
Fix your Business Profile facts
The answers to most customer questions already live in your profile fields: hours, special hours, service areas, attributes, categories, services and the description (Google).
- Set special hours for every festival and holiday.
- Fill in every attribute Google offers for your category, such as payment options or accessibility, where they apply.
- Add every service you offer, in plain words.
- Use your 750-character description to answer the top three questions people ask on the phone. Our Google Business Profile description examples show how.
Answer the questions Google shows you
If your profile shows existing questions, or grouped questions to answer, answer them accurately and briefly. Google said those answers help respond to similar questions in Maps (Google Business Profile Community).
Put an FAQ on your website
Google says Ask Maps answers can include links to the web (Google Maps Help). A clear FAQ page on your site gives Google, and customers, a direct source. Write it in the words customers use:
Illustrative example for a dental clinic in Pune:
- Do you do root canals in one sitting? (Answer honestly, with conditions.)
- Do you accept card and UPI? Is there parking for two-wheelers?
- Are you open on Sundays?
Get reviews that mention specifics
Google said answers draw on relevant reviews, and Google lists reviews among the things Ask Maps uses. Ask every customer for an honest review, with no incentives and no filtering (Google contribution policy). Don't tell customers what to write. Google's policy also bans asking staff to collect reviews with specific content. See how to ask for Google reviews on WhatsApp.
Test it yourself
Open Google Maps on your phone, find your business and ask the three questions customers ask you most. If an answer is wrong, find the source: your hours, your website, or a review. Fix what you control.
For a wider view of how AI search picks local businesses, read how local businesses show up in ChatGPT and AI Overviews.
What to stop doing
- Seeding fake questions. It was always a grey area, and the old public section is no longer how customers get answers.
- Paying for a "Q&A management" service. With the API gone, no tool can post or answer Business Profile questions for you.
- Writing the same answer in five places. One accurate profile field beats repeated text.
How BeeCMO helps
- BeeCMO can't manage Q&A for you. Google discontinued the API, so no tool can.
- Guard Bee works on what feeds Google's answers: replies to every review and a review request for every customer, with no rating filter. It does this once Google approves our app's Business Profile API access, which is pending.
- Scout Bee checks whether AI search engines mention you for the questions your customers ask, and its blog writer drafts articles with an FAQ section, each waiting for your approval. See Guard Bee, Scout Bee and pricing.
FAQ
Is Google Business Profile Q&A gone?
Google changed it. In December 2025 Google said customers would ask questions in Google Maps and get instant answers based on the business's answers and relevant reviews. Owners can still answer existing questions in their Business Profile.
When did the Google Business Profile Q&A API stop working?
Google discontinued the Q&A API on 3 November 2025, after support ended on 15 September 2025. Google lists no replacement.
What is Ask Maps?
Ask Maps is a Gemini-powered feature in Google Maps that answers questions about places in a conversation. Google launched it on 12 March 2026 in the US and India, in English in India, with Hindi to follow.
Can I edit what Ask Maps says about my business?
Not directly. Keep your profile details, website and reviews accurate, and answer any questions Google shows in your profile. Google says AI answers can sometimes be incorrect.
Should I still add questions to my own profile?
No. That tactic belonged to the old public Q&A. Spend the time on accurate hours, services and attributes, a website FAQ and honest reviews.
Sources
All checked 28 October 2026.
- Google for Developers, Business Profile APIs sunset dates (Q&A API support ended 15 September 2025, discontinued 3 November 2025, no replacement): https://developers.google.com/my-business/content/sunset-dates
- Google Business Profile Community, "A heads up about the upcoming changes to the Q&A feature", posted by a Google Community Manager on 3 December 2025: https://support.google.com/business/thread/392024106
- Google blog India, Ask anything about any place on Maps with Gemini (12 March 2026; US and India, English, Hindi later): https://blog.google/intl/en-in/products/explore-communicate/ask-anything-about-any-place-on-maps-with-gemini/
- Google blog, How we're reimagining Maps with Gemini (12 March 2026; Android and iOS, desktop to follow): https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/ask-maps-immersive-navigation/
- Google Maps Help, ask questions in Google Maps (desktop, AI answers can be incorrect, web links): https://support.google.com/maps/answer/16842041
- Google Business Profile Help, edit your Business Profile (fields, 750-character description): https://support.google.com/business/answer/3039617
- Google Maps user contributed content policy (review incentives, staff soliciting specific content): https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114
- Local Search Forum, "Ask a question" button missing in GBPs (practitioner reports, December 2025): https://localsearchforum.com/threads/ask-a-question-button-missing-gone-in-gbps-unable-to-publish-new-faqs.62955/