Your Google Business Profile is the new front door. Here is what to fix this month.

By Fay Chapple

Ask an owner where customers first meet their business and most will say the website. Then ask when they last looked at their Google Business Profile, and the room goes quiet.

That profile is the box that appears when someone searches your name, or searches "accountant near me", or asks Maps for a breakfast place that's open now. Increasingly it's also where AI assistants look when someone asks them to recommend a business like yours. For a lot of local and owner-run businesses, it gets more views in a month than the website gets in a year.

And it's usually the last thing anyone updated.

Why it matters more now

Search used to send people to your site, where you controlled the story. Now a growing share of people get their answer on the results page itself: your hours, your photos, your reviews, a map and a call button. Many never click through.

AI assistants work the same way, only more so. When someone asks one to suggest a physiotherapist in their neighbourhood or a caterer for forty people, it pulls together what it can find about the businesses nearby. Listings that are complete, current and consistent with your website give it something to work with. Half-empty ones give it a reason to suggest someone else.

What to check this month

You can do most of this in an hour with a coffee. Open your profile from a phone, the way a customer would see it, and work down the list.

• Hours, including holidays. Wrong hours cost you more goodwill than almost anything else on the internet. Add your holiday hours before each holiday, not after someone turns up to a locked door.
• Your primary category. It should describe the thing you most want to be found for. Add secondary categories for the rest, but only ones that are true.
• The description. Write it the way you would explain the business to a neighbour. Say what you do, who it's for and where you are. Skip the slogans.
• Services or products. List them with plain names and, where it makes sense, prices. This is the detail search engines and AI assistants match against what people ask for.
• Photos. Real ones, taken recently: the front door, the inside, the team, the work. Add a few every month. Old photos tell people the business might be old too.
• Reviews, and your replies. Answer every one, good and bad, briefly and like a person. Future customers read the replies as closely as the reviews.
• Posts. A short update every week or two (a new service, an event, a seasonal offer) shows the business is open and paying attention.

Make it match everywhere else

Once the profile is right, check that your name, address, phone number and hours match on your website, your social profiles and any directories you're listed in. When they disagree, search engines and AI assistants have to guess which one is true. You want them guessing as little as possible.

It helps to know that each assistant reads a different file. Google and Gemini lean on your Google Business Profile. ChatGPT mostly sees the web through Bing, so claim your listing at Bing Places too. Siri and Apple Maps read Apple Business Connect. Fixing Google fixes the most important one, but not the only one.

The same goes for how you describe yourself. If the profile says "family law firm", the website says "legal services" and Instagram says "helping families through change", you're making it harder for anyone, human or machine, to work out what you actually do. Pick one clear description and use it in every place.

Then keep it fresh

The fix itself is easy. Remembering to do it every month is where most businesses fall down, so put it in the calendar as a standing twenty minutes: new photos, reply to reviews, one post, check the hours. If you already plan your social media each month, fold the profile into that plan so it never goes stale again.

AI can take some of the grind out of it. It's good at drafting a profile description from your website, turning one piece of news into a short post, and suggesting replies to reviews that you then edit into your own voice. Keep a person on every reply, though. Customers can tell.

Where the workshop comes in

This is exactly where our Found, Followed, Remembered workshop starts. It runs two hours, hands on, with a phone or laptop and free ChatGPT. Everyone asks the machine what it says about their own business, rewrites their Google description from their own facts, and leaves with a business prompt on their phone and a week of posts made from one real story.

If you'd rather start on your own, the list above will take you most of the way. And if you want a quick read on where the rest of your marketing stands, the free AI Readiness Scorecard takes about four minutes.

Questions people ask about Google Business Profiles

How often should I update my Google Business Profile?

At least once a month. Add a few new photos, publish a short post, reply to new reviews and check your hours. Holiday hours go in before each holiday.

Does a Google Business Profile help with AI search?

Yes. Google's AI answers and Gemini draw on your profile, so a complete and current listing gives them accurate facts to repeat. ChatGPT leans on Bing, so claim your Bing Places listing as well.

What should I write in my Google Business Profile description?

Say what you do, who it's for and where you are, in plain words. You have up to 750 characters, so skip the slogans and lists of keywords.

Should I reply to every Google review?

Yes, good and bad, briefly and in your own voice. Future customers read the replies as closely as the reviews, and replies show the business is paying attention.

Can I have a Google Business Profile without a storefront?

Yes, as long as you meet customers in person, at their place or yours. Set it up as a service area business with the address hidden, and never use a mailing address or virtual office.

Read next: What AI can take off your team's desk this week and One conversation, a month of content.