Google is phasing out the Questions and Answers feature from GBP
You can no longer add new questions or answers
New business profiles have Q&A turned off entirely
Existing Q&A content may still be visible on some profiles, but it’s frozen and will eventually disappear
Google is replacing Q&A with an AI-powered feature called “Ask about this place”
Keeping your GBP profile complete and accurate is now more important than ever
If you’ve tried to add a question or answer to your Google Business Profile recently, you’ll have noticed something has changed.
With 46% of all Google searches featuring local intent, your Business Profile has never been more important. Yet Google has stopped allowing new Q&A content, and many business owners are wondering what’s happening.
The short answer: Google is phasing out the Q&A feature and replacing it with AI-powered responses.
Some existing Q&A content may still be visible on older profiles, but you can no longer add to it. New profiles don’t have the feature at all.
This guide explains what’s going on, why Google made this decision, and what you should do to make sure your business appears accurately when potential customers search for you.
Table of Contents
Why Is Google Removing the Q&A Section?
What the Q&A Feature Used to Do
For nearly a decade, Google Business Profiles included a Questions and Answers section. Anyone could post a question about a business, and anyone else, including the business owner, could provide an answer.
You might have used it to tell customers about parking availability, opening hours, or payment methods. The feature worked like a mini-forum attached to your listing.
Common questions appeared prominently, and helpful answers could receive upvotes from other users.
For many businesses, it became a useful way to address frequently asked questions right where customers were searching.
Before the changes, we recommended that all our clients with a Google Business Profile include some questions and answers on their listing.
Why Google Decided to Phase It Out
Google is retiring the Q&A feature because (according to them) it had become unreliable.
Since anyone could answer questions, businesses often found themselves dealing with wrong information posted by well-meaning strangers, or occasionally by competitors trying to mislead potential customers.
The problem of “answer hijacking” was particularly troublesome. Someone might answer a question incorrectly, and that wrong answer would remain visible for years.
Worse still, spammers learned they could edit their questions after a business had responded, creating misleading content.
Consider a common scenario. A customer asks “Are you open on bank holidays?” and someone answers “Yes” three years ago. If you’ve since changed your policy, that outdated answer stays visible. Customers turn up expecting you to be open, only to find your doors closed.
According to Google’s developer documentation, the company is updating the Q&A functionality and user experience.
A significant portion of Q&A content had become outdated, unmoderated, or factually incorrect. This contradicted Google’s goal of providing accurate, real-time information.
The phase-out also reflects Google’s broader shift toward AI-powered search. Rather than relying on user-generated answers that might be years out of date, Google is moving to artificial intelligence that generates responses based on current information about your business.
What Is Ask About This Place?
The replacement for Q&A is called “Ask about this place” (sometimes referred to as “Ask Maps”). You may already see it when searching for businesses on Google Maps, particularly on mobile devices.
Instead of showing a thread of past questions and answers, this feature lets customers type questions in natural language and receive AI-generated responses immediately.
The AI behind this feature is Gemini, Google’s large language model.
When someone asks “Do you have wheelchair access?” or “Is this place good for working on a laptop?”, Gemini searches through multiple sources of information about your business and generates a response.
Where Does the AI Find Its Information?
The AI pulls from several sources, weighted in roughly this order:
Your Google Business Profile is the primary source. This includes your business description, opening hours, services, products, and attributes such as “wheelchair accessible” or “free Wi-Fi”.
Customer reviews carry significant weight. If several reviewers mention that your café has excellent coffee and quiet corners for working, the AI will reference this when answering questions about atmosphere.
Your website provides additional context, particularly if you have well-structured content and FAQ pages with schema markup.
Photos you’ve uploaded are analysed too. Google’s image recognition can identify features visible in your photos, such as outdoor seating, accessibility features, or product displays.
Third-party sources like directory listings and social media profiles may also be referenced, which is why consistent information across all platforms matters.
What Customers See When They Search
When someone searches for your business on Google Maps and taps “Ask about this place”, they can type any question in natural language. The AI generates an answer straight away, rather than showing them old questions to scroll through.
For example, if someone asks “Can I bring my dog here?”, the AI might respond: “Based on reviews, customers have mentioned bringing dogs to the outdoor seating area” or “There’s no specific information about pets for this business.”
If the AI cannot find enough information to answer confidently, it will say so rather than guessing. You might see responses like “It looks like there isn’t much information about that for this business.”
What Is the Current Status of Q&A?
The transition from Q&A to AI-powered responses is happening in stages. Here’s where things stand:
September 2025: Google announced the discontinuation of the Q&A API. Third-party tools and marketing platforms were given notice that automated Q&A management would end.
3 November 2025: The API was officially switched off. You can no longer add new questions or answers through any software tools, and the ability to post new Q&A manually has been disabled.
3 December 2025: The public-facing Q&A threads began disappearing from Google Search and Maps, replaced by the conversational “Ask” button powered by Gemini AI.
13 December 2025: Gemini AI integration expanded further, with AI-generated information cards becoming more prominent in local search results.
Current status (January 2026): Existing Q&A content may still be visible on some business profiles, but no new content can be added. New business profiles are created without the Q&A feature. The transition to AI-powered responses continues.
Some UK businesses are seeing the changes at different rates depending on their category and location. If your profile still shows old Q&A content, that content is frozen. You cannot update it, and it will eventually be removed as Google completes the transition.
Don’t wait for the old Q&A content to disappear. Take your best questions and answers and move them to your website FAQ page now, with schema markup. That way, the AI still has access to that information
Sean Horton, founder of Respect Experts
What Does This Mean for Your Business?
Do You Still Have Control Over Q&A?
Not in the way you used to. Previously, you could monitor your Q&A section, answer questions yourself, and correct wrong information posted by others.
That direct control has gone.
Google’s AI now speaks on your behalf. It generates answers based on what it can find about your business from various sources. You cannot edit what the AI says, and you cannot manually add answers to common questions.
This might feel uncomfortable at first. However, it also means you no longer need to monitor Q&A for spam, incorrect answers from random users, or malicious edits from competitors.
Why Does Profile Accuracy Matter More Now?
Because the AI primarily relies on your Google Business Profile to generate answers, every detail matters. Research shows that 86% of all Google Business Profile views come from category-based searches like “dentist near me” or “plumber open now”.
If your profile says you close at 5pm but you actually stay open until 6pm, the AI will tell customers the wrong closing time.
Every section of your profile now feeds directly into how your business is described. Missing information means the AI might say “I don’t have information about that” or make assumptions based on incomplete data.
The AI also cross-references your profile against other online sources. If it finds conflicting information, it may choose the wrong version or express uncertainty to users.
What Should You Do Now?
Log into your Google Business Profile and check that every section contains accurate, detailed information.
Business description: Clearly explain what you do, who you serve, and what distinguishes you from competitors. Focus on practical details rather than marketing language.
Services and products: List each service or product individually with descriptions. If you offer different packages or categories, add them all. The more specific you are, the better the AI can answer questions about what you offer.
Attributes: These are the tick-box options for things like wheelchair access, parking, Wi-Fi, and payment methods. Work through every relevant attribute and check they’re correctly set. These small details often answer the exact questions customers ask.
Opening hours: Must be accurate, including special hours for bank holidays. Check these regularly, as the AI treats them as authoritative.
Why Are Customer Reviews More Important Now?
Customer reviews have become one of the most important information sources for Google’s AI.
In 2024, Google reviews accounted for 81% of all online review volume, making them the dominant source of social proof for local businesses. The more specific detail your reviews contain, the better the AI can answer questions about your business.
When asking customers for reviews, encourage them to mention specific aspects of their experience. “Great service!” is pleasant but gives the AI nothing to work with. “Loved the quiet atmosphere for working, and there’s easy parking right outside” provides details the AI can reference.
Respond to reviews thoughtfully too. Your responses become part of the information pool the AI draws from. If a reviewer mentions something incorrectly, your polite correction helps set the record straight for the AI as well as for other readers.
Should You Create an FAQ Page on Your Website?
If you don’t have a main FAQ page on your website, create one.
Google’s AI can reference your website when generating answers, so having clear answers to common questions on your own site helps accuracy.
Think about the questions customers actually ask. What are your opening hours? Do you need to book in advance? What payment methods do you accept? Is there parking nearby? Can you accommodate dietary requirements or accessibility needs?
Adding schema markup: Schema markup is code that helps search engines understand the structure of your content. For FAQ pages, it tells Google “these are questions and answers about my business.”
You don’t need to be technical to add it.
Free schema markup generators are available online. You paste in your questions and answers, and the tool generates the code. You then add this code to your FAQ page, either yourself if you’re comfortable editing HTML, or by sending it to your web developer.
With schema markup in place, Google can more easily identify and use your FAQ content when generating AI answers about your business.
What About Your Existing Q&A Content?
If you had useful Q&A content on your profile, don’t let that information go to waste. Download them and review your old questions and answers before they disappear entirely.
Take the most common or useful questions and repurpose them:
- Add the information to your business description
- Create an FAQ page on your website
- Include details in your services and products sections
- Address common questions in your Google Posts
This way, the information remains available to Google’s AI through other channels.
How Do You Fix Incorrect AI Answers?
If you notice Google’s AI giving wrong information about your business, you have several options.
Check your own profile first. The most common cause of incorrect AI answers is outdated or missing information in your Google Business Profile. Update it, and the AI-generated answers should eventually reflect the change.
Use the feedback option. When you see an AI-generated answer in Google Maps, there’s usually an option to report that the information is wrong. Google’s team reviews these reports, though response times vary.
Audit your wider online presence. If the AI seems to be pulling incorrect information from elsewhere, check your listings on other platforms. Your Facebook page, old directory listings, and industry-specific sites might contain outdated details. If your Google Business Profile says one thing but these other sources say something different, the AI might pick up the wrong version.
Be patient and realistic. You cannot directly control what the AI says, but you can influence it by managing the sources it learns from. Changes may take time to work through the system.
What Should Businesses Do Next?
The phase-out of Google Business Profile Q&A changes how potential customers find information about your business.
You’ve lost the ability to manually answer questions on your listing, but you’ve also been freed from monitoring user-generated content for spam and errors.
The businesses that will do best under this new system are those with complete, accurate profiles and detailed customer reviews. If the AI has good information to work with, it will represent your business well.
As local SEO expert Mike Blumenthal notes: “All local businesses need to move away from SEO tactics that attempt to influence Google search results directly. Shift effort into local brand building.”
Focus on what you can control:
- Keep your Google Business Profile complete and current
- Encourage customers to leave detailed, specific reviews
- Respond to reviews thoughtfully
- Maintain an FAQ page on your website, ideally with schema markup
- Check your business information is consistent across all online platforms
- Repurpose any valuable content from your old Q&A section
For most small businesses, these changes actually simplify profile management. You no longer need to watch a Q&A section that might fill up with outdated information or deliberate misinformation.
If you’re unsure whether your profile is properly set up for these changes, or you’d like help making sure the AI represents your business accurately, speaking with someone who specialises in local SEO can be worthwhile. Sometimes an outside perspective spots issues you’ve overlooked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Google discontinued the Q&A API on 3 November 2025, which means you can no longer add new questions or answers to your listing. The company is phasing out the Q&A feature and replacing it with an AI-powered system called “Ask about this place” that generates answers automatically.
Not yet. Existing Q&A content may still be visible on some older profiles, but it’s frozen. You cannot add new content, and Google is progressively removing the feature. New business profiles are created without Q&A at all. Full removal is expected but hasn’t been given a specific end date.
It’s Google’s AI-powered feature that lets customers ask questions about businesses in natural language. The AI, powered by Gemini, generates instant answers using information from your business profile, customer reviews, photos, and website content. Customers see it as a text box where they can type any question.
Keep your Google Business Profile complete with accurate information in every section. Encourage customers to leave detailed reviews that mention specific aspects of their experience. Create an FAQ page on your website with schema markup. Check your business information is consistent across all online platforms where you’re listed.
The AI draws from your Google Business Profile fields, customer reviews, your website content, photos you’ve uploaded, and other online sources where your business appears. Reviews carry significant weight in shaping how the AI describes your business to potential customers.
You cannot directly edit AI-generated answers. However, you can influence them by updating your Google Business Profile, encouraging detailed customer reviews, responding to reviews thoughtfully, and making sure your online information is consistent everywhere. The AI learns from these sources.
If your profile had existing Q&A content before the changes, it may still be visible but is now frozen. You cannot edit or add to it. Consider reviewing this content and repurposing valuable information into your business description, website FAQ page, or services section before it’s eventually removed.
We say yes. A well-structured FAQ page helps Google’s AI find accurate information about your business. Adding schema markup to your FAQ page makes it even easier for search engines to understand and use your content when generating answers about your business.
Google hasn’t announced a specific end date for complete removal of legacy Q&A content. The API was discontinued on 3 November 2025, and new profiles no longer have the feature. The transition to AI-powered responses is happening progressively, with full removal expected but not yet scheduled.
It depends on your situation. You lose direct control over answering questions, but you also no longer need to monitor for spam, incorrect answers from strangers, or malicious edits. Businesses with complete, accurate profiles and genuine positive reviews will likely benefit from more consistent, reliable AI-generated responses than the old user-generated Q&A provided.
Yes, but it’s now called Google Business Profile. Google rebranded the service in 2021. Everything works the same way, just with a different name. You can manage your listing directly from Google Search or Maps by searching for your business name.