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Google Business Profile Q&A Is Fading Out: Where Customer Questions Go Now

The public Q&A box on Google Business Profiles is giving way to Ask Maps, an AI that answers customers inside Google Maps, so put clear answers on your own website, keep your profile accurate and ask for detailed reviews, because those are what its answers draw on.

A small-business owner at a timber shop counter holds a phone showing a street map with one location pin, a notepad and pen beside it.
Illustration

Where customer questions should go now: mostly your website

Where an Ask Maps answer comes from

Customer"Do you come to my suburb?"

AnswerProfileReviewsWebsite

Ask Maps in Google Maps

  1. 1

    Business Profile: description, services, attributes, hours, posts

    Who changes itYou, plus suggested edits from others. 4 days to respond once Google notifies you; if you don't, Google may publish an edit when public info such as your website supports it, and some policy-driven edits need no review.

  2. 2

    Customer reviews

    Who changes itCustomers write them; you reply.

  3. 3

    Your website

    Who changes itOnly you.

  4. 4

    Third-party sites (used if the answer isn't found in 1 to 3)

    Who changes itTheir owners; you can ask for corrections.

Source: BrightLocal, Google Business Profile Help, Search Engine Roundtable

Google is steering customers away from the public Q&A box on your Google Business Profile. In December 2025 it told owners that customers "can ask their question directly in Google Maps and get an updated, instant answer" based on your answers and relevant reviews. Since then Google has launched Ask Maps, a Gemini feature inside Google Maps, and BrightLocal describes Ask Maps as the replacement for Q&A.

So where should your answers live? Start with the places Ask Maps draws on. BrightLocal lists them: your Business Profile details (description, services, attributes, hours, posts), your customer reviews, your website, and third-party sites when the answer isn't in those. That makes four sources.

Now ask who can change each one.

  • Reviews are written by customers. You can reply, but the words are theirs.
  • Third-party sites are run by someone else. All you can do is ask them to fix errors.
  • Your profile takes suggested edits from other people. When Google notifies you of one, you have 4 days to accept or reject it. If you don't respond, Google may publish it where other public information, such as your website, supports it, and some policy-driven edits go through without your review.
  • Your website changes only when you change it.

Our count: your website is the only one of the four sources that you fully control. Google also names it as one of the things that can back up an edit to your profile. That conclusion is Newcastle SEO's reading of those sources side by side, not a Google statement. It's why our advice is to write your answers on your website first, then make your profile match.

What changed on Google Business Profile, and when

  1. 15 Sep 2025

    Q&A API discontinuation announced

    Source: Google

  2. 3 Nov 2025

    Q&A API discontinued

    Source: Google

  3. Dec 2025

    Google says Q&A is changing and customers can ask in Maps (reported 15 Dec)

    Source: Search Engine Roundtable

  4. 12 Mar 2026

    Ask Maps announced, US and India

    Source: Google

  5. 7 Aug 2026

    Australia

    Ask Maps rolling out in Australia, in English

    Source: Google Australia

The change came in steps.

On 15 Sep 2025, Google announced it was discontinuing the Q&A API "as we are in the process of updating the Q&A functionality and user experience". The API itself was discontinued on 3 Nov 2025. That date only matters if your software used to pull questions from your profile automatically.

In December 2025, Google confirmed the Q&A feature is changing. It told owners they would answer grouped questions from customers instead of dozens of one-off ones.

"Instead of answering dozens of specific questions from customers that may grow stale, you can answer aggregated questions from our customers... Your answer will then be used to help respond to other customers asking similar questions on Maps."

A Google Product Specialist in the Business Profile help forum, as quoted by Search Engine Roundtable, December 2025.

On 12 Mar 2026, Google announced Ask Maps as a conversational Gemini feature in Google Maps. It draws on "information from over 300 million places, including reviews from our community of more than 500 million contributors". It launched first in the US and India.

On 7 Aug 2026, Google Australia said Ask Maps is rolling out in Australia in English. Its examples are everyday ones: catching a ferry to Taronga Zoo, and how busy a place is right now. Swap those for "is the plumber open Saturday?" or "does that café do gluten free?" and you can see where your business comes in.

From Google's API notice to Ask Maps rolling out in Australia took 326 days (our count, 15 Sep 2025 to 7 Aug 2026). The change is already under way here, so there is nothing to wait for.

Which answer goes where

What customers ask Where your answer should live
Are you open now, or on a public holiday? Profile hours, kept current, plus the same hours on your website
Do you do this particular job? Profile services list, plus a website page for that service
Do you come to my suburb? A website page naming the suburbs you cover, matched in your profile description
Roughly what does it cost? A website page explaining how you price, in plain words
What happens after I call? A website page walking through your process
Are they good to deal with? Reviews with specific detail, and your replies

Ask Maps draws on profile information, reviews and your website (BrightLocal).

Think about the ten questions you answer most often on the phone. Each one now needs a home Google can read.

Most belong on your website, in plain words, on the page that matches the question: a page for each service, one for the suburbs you cover, one on how you price, and one on what happens after someone calls. Your profile then repeats the short version: hours, services, attributes and a description that agrees with the site. BrightLocal's advice runs the same way: fill in the profile fully, put clear answers on the website, and ask third-party sites to correct wrong details.

One common mistake is still trying to seed your own FAQ in a public Q&A on the profile, when customers now ask their question directly in Google Maps and the AI answers from your answers and reviews.

Reviews carry the questions about trust. Google says the answers customers get in Maps draw on relevant reviews, so a review that says "fixed our hot water system the same afternoon in Merewether" answers more than one that says "great service". Our earlier post on Google reviews and the rules around asking for them covers how to ask without breaking Google's policies.

A 15-minute check you can do on your phone

You can see what Ask Maps says about you today, from your own phone.

  1. Open Google Maps and tap Ask Maps. It is still rolling out, so if you can't see it yet, try again in a few weeks.
  2. Ask five questions your customers really ask you, worded the way they'd say them. If you're not sure what those are, our post on what your customers actually search for helps you find them.
  3. Write down each answer and the sources shown underneath it. BrightLocal reports that sources are shown under answers, which tells you where to look when something's wrong.
  4. Mark anything that's wrong, out of date or missing.
  5. Fix it where it came from: a profile field, a page on your website, or a correction request to the third-party site.
  6. Put a repeat check in your diary for a month or two away.

That repeat matters. Answers are generated live, so there's no pre-written answer to edit, and the same question can come back differently next time. The fix is always the information underneath.

What Ask Maps can't promise you

Be clear-eyed about this. Google's Ask Maps announcement offers no paid placement in its answers, and Google would not tell reporters whether it plans to sell one. Nobody, Newcastle SEO included, can promise your business will be named in one.

Answers can be wrong, which is why the check above exists. And Ask Maps may not show up for every business: BrightLocal says it was reported missing for some categories, including healthcare and spam-prone ones such as locksmiths. If you can't find it for your listing, that may be why.

What you can control is the same thing that has always mattered for local search: accurate details, real reviews and a website that answers questions plainly. Ask Maps reads those out loud.

Common questions about Google Business Profile Q&A

  • Key dates

    • 15 Sep 2025 Q&A API discontinuation announced
    • 3 Nov 2025 Q&A API discontinued
    • Dec 2025 Google says Q&A is changing and customers can ask in Maps (reported 15 Dec)
    • 12 Mar 2026 Ask Maps announced, US and India
    • 7 Aug 2026 Ask Maps rolling out in Australia in English

    Source: Google, Search Engine Roundtable, Google, Google Australia

  • What answers draw on (BrightLocal)

    • Business Profile information
    • customer reviews
    • your website
    • then third-party sites if needed

    Source: BrightLocal

  • Your three fixes

    • answers on your website
    • an accurate profile
    • specific reviews

Can I still answer questions on my profile?
Google told owners they "can continue to answer existing questions about their business" in the Q&A section of their profile, and that published questions and answers may be shown in Maps. That comes from Search Engine Roundtable's report of Google's forum post. Search Engine Roundtable sums it up as a Q&A section that is still there behind the scenes but no longer on the public listing.

Can customers still ask questions?
Yes, but they ask Google Maps rather than you. Google says customers can ask their question directly in Google Maps and get an instant answer.

Is Ask Maps in Australia?
Yes. Google Australia announced on 7 Aug 2026 that it is rolling out in Australia in English. It may not appear for every category.

Your next step

Do the 15-minute check this week, with a notepad beside you. If the answers about your business are thin, wrong or pulled from somewhere you didn't expect, write down what you found and talk to Newcastle SEO. We'll go through it with you and work out which page or profile field to fix first.

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