What a Google Business Profile needs in the age of AI answers
When someone asks Google Maps “plumber in Manly who comes out on Sunday”, Google's AI answers from your listing. It can only recommend what your listing lets it confirm. Here are the nine parts it reads, and what each one does for you.
Skip to checking your own listing
Harbour Plumbing
4.7 (38) · “Came out on a Sunday, fixed it fast”
Plumber
Serves Manly, Dee Why, Mosman and nearby
Open · Closes 6 pm · Holiday hours set
02 9977 0000 · harbourplumbing.com.au
Blocked drains, hot water, gas fitting, leak detection…
Response from the owner · Thanks Sam, glad we could help on a weekend.
The nine parts of a listing
- 1
Business name
Exactly what's on your sign. Nothing added.
What Google's AI does with it: Matches you when someone searches your brand. A name stuffed with services or suburbs reads as spam.
Google's rule: Adding services, suburbs or slogans to the name can get the profile suspended.
- 2
Primary category
The single most specific thing you are. "Plumber", not "Contractor".
What Google's AI does with it: Decides which questions you can be an answer to at all. The wrong category makes you invisible for the right searches.
Google's rule: Use as few categories as it takes, and describe the business, not its features.
- 3
Address or service area
A shop shows its street address. A business that travels hides it and lists the suburbs it serves.
What Google's AI does with it: Distance is one of Google's three ranking factors. "Near me" is decided here.
Google's rule: Only show an address customers can walk into, with the pin on the entrance.
- 4
Hours and holiday hours
Regular hours, plus special hours for every public holiday.
What Google's AI does with it: Answers "open now", "open Sunday", "open tonight". Without holiday hours it shows your normal hours and sends people to a locked door.
Google's rule: Missing or wrong hours is one reason Google gives for a profile not showing.
- 5
Phone and website
A local number you answer, and a link to your own website.
What Google's AI does with it: Your website is the second place Google checks. When the site and the profile say the same thing, it can confirm it.
Google's rule: No call-centre, premium-rate or redirecting numbers.
- 6
Photos
At least ten real ones: outside, inside, the team, the work. Two or three new each month.
What Google's AI does with it: People judge the shortlist Google gives them by its photos, and photo activity helps ranking.
Google's rule: No heavy filters and no AI-altered images.
- 7
Reviews and replies
A steady flow, month after month, and a reply to every one.
What Google's AI does with it: Google summarises what reviewers say. "Came out on a Sunday" in a review is how it learns you work weekends.
Google's rule: Never offer anything for a review. Google treats it as fake engagement and can flag the profile publicly.
- 8
Description and services
What you do, for whom and where, in plain sentences. Every service listed on its own.
What Google's AI does with it: Your own words. This is where "gas fitting" or "leak detection" becomes something Google can match to a question.
Google's rule: No links, prices or "50% off" in the description; up to 750 characters.
- 9
Attributes
The yes/no facts: wheelchair access, card payments, parking, free quotes.
What Google's AI does with it: The most direct answers you can give. A search for a "wheelchair-accessible café" only finds cafés that answered that box.
Google's rule: Answer honestly. Changes can take up to 30 days to show.
Three things customers never see, but that can cost you the listing
None of these show on the profile. All of them decide whether you keep it.
- VerifiedUnverified profiles rank lower, can't reply to reviews and can't see their own data.
- Owned by the businessIf a staff member's Gmail or your agency is the primary owner, they hold your listing.
- Only one listingDuplicates split your reviews and can get both suspended.
See how your listing measures up
We read your listing straight from Google. No login, no long form.
Questions
What do you check?
The nine parts of your listing that Google's AI reads, plus three things customers never see that decide whether you keep it. We read what we can straight from Google. Google doesn't share everything, so we ask up to four quick questions when we find your listing (twelve if you check by hand), all optional. Every detail behind the nine parts is on the full checklist page.
Is it free?
Yes. No account, no card. If you want the full report, we email it to you.
Do you look up my listing?
Yes, from Google itself: we search Google Maps for the name and suburb you give us, and you pick your listing. Nothing is shared with anyone else. No Google listing yet? Answer a few questions by hand instead.
What is Ask Maps?
The AI assistant Google added to Google Maps in 2026. It answers questions like "emergency plumber open on Sunday near Manly" with a shortlist. To choose, it reads business profiles, reviews and websites. The more your profile lets it confirm, the better your chances. The check shows what your profile lets it confirm.