Guide · Practitioner
Google Business Profile and AI Mode
Google Business Profile is one of the main structured data sources behind local answers on Google, including AI Mode. Google says AI Mode combines web content with "fresh, real-time sources like the Knowledge Graph, info about the real world, and shopping data" ([Google](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/ai-mode-search/)), and profiles are shown across Search and Maps ([Google](https://support.google.com/business/answer/2721884)). An accurate, complete profile, consistent with your website and backed by genuine reviews, is the most controllable input a local business has.
Facts are from Google Business Profile Help and Google's AI Mode announcements, accessed 31 Oct 2026. Google does not publish exactly how AI Mode uses profile fields, so statements about that link are labelled "Our view".
On this page
- Where does Google get business information?
- How does this connect to AI Mode?
- Which profile fields matter most?
- What about reviews?
- Can Gemini help manage the profile?
- What can you measure?
- What should you do this week?
- From MentionX data: how local and brand prompts differ
- Worked example: Ledgerline tidies its office listing
- How do you check profile accuracy?
- How do categories and services help?
- How do photos and posts help?
- How do you handle multiple locations?
- How should you ask for reviews?
- What about your website's local pages?
- What should you avoid?
- Who should own the profile?
- How do you track local prompts?
- How do you handle holidays and closures?
- Common questions
- Sources
Checked on 31 October 2026. "Our view" marks MentionX opinion. Ledgerline is a fictional company used for illustration.
Where does Google get business information?
Google's help centre lists the sources for business profiles (Google):
- Publicly available information, such as crawled web content, including your official website
- Licensed data from third parties
- Users who contribute facts and content such as photos and reviews, including owners who claim profiles
- Information based on Google's own interactions with a place
Google also says profiles are displayed on Search and Maps and on third-party sites and apps via APIs such as the Google Maps Platform (Google).
Two consequences follow. First, your profile is not just what you typed: customers and other sources can add to it, so check it regularly. Second, your website is itself a source. If your site and profile disagree, you're feeding conflicting facts into the same system.
How does this connect to AI Mode?
Google describes AI Mode as using query fan-out: issuing multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources, then combining the results (Google). Google has also said agentic features in AI Mode would start with event tickets, restaurant reservations and local appointments, working with partners such as Resy and Vagaro (Google).
Our view: for a question like "a quiet Italian restaurant near me that takes bookings for eight on Friday", the useful facts are mostly profile facts (category, location, hours, attributes, reservation links) plus web content (menus, reviews, articles). Businesses with the facts filled in can be matched; businesses without them can't.
Which profile fields matter most?
Google's local ranking tips name these explicitly (Google):
| Field | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Verification | Verify the business | Google says verified businesses are more likely to show in results |
| Address / service area | Exact and consistent with your site | Distance and location matching |
| Hours | Regular and special hours | Wrong hours mean wrong answers |
| Category | Primary category that matches what you do | Relevance |
| Attributes | Parking, Wi-Fi, accessibility and others | Matches qualifier questions |
| Reviews | Reply to them | Prominence and trust |
| Photos and videos | Real, recent | Shows what you offer |
| In-store products | Retail in eligible countries | Products may show in local results |
Google's Profile Strength indicator, available for verified listings, flags missing information such as the description, hours and contact details, and checks consistency across Google products including Search, Maps and Shopping (Google). Use it as a checklist.
Follow Google's guidelines for representing your business. The name should reflect your real-world name as used on your storefront, website and stationery; Google says including unnecessary information in the name isn't permitted and could lead to suspension (Google).
What about reviews?
Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and prominence takes into account information such as how many reviews you have (Google). Assistants also summarise review themes. Our view: the content of reviews matters as well as the count, because "great with nervous kids" or "fixed my boiler the same day" are exactly the qualifiers people put into prompts.
Ask every genuine customer, make it easy, and reply. Never pay for reviews or offer incentives; Google's content policy prohibits both (Google).
Can Gemini help manage the profile?
Yes, with limits. Google says you can connect your profile to the Gemini web app to update details such as hours, contact information and action links, draft review replies and posts, summarise themes in reviews, and access insights. Requirements include owning or managing only one verified profile and using a personal Google Account (Google). Review anything Gemini drafts before publishing; you're responsible for what goes on the profile.
What can you measure?
Not AI Mode specifically. What you can measure:
- Business Profile performance: views, searches (the terms people used) and interactions from Search and Maps, for verified profiles. Google notes this includes organic results and Google Ads (Google).
- GA4 link: you can link a Business Profile to GA4 to see profile interactions alongside website data (Google).
- Prompt testing: run local prompts in AI Mode from a fixed location and record whether you're named, how you're described and which sources appear. Location changes results (Google), so always log where you tested.
What should you do this week?
- Open your profile and complete everything Profile Strength flags (Google).
- Check name, address, phone, hours and category against your website and fix differences.
- Add attributes that answer common qualifier questions.
- Reply to every unanswered review.
- Run five local prompts in AI Mode and note how you're described.
For a full schedule, use the 90-day local GEO plan. For other assistants, see getting recommended for "near me" prompts and how to rank in Google AI Mode.
From MentionX data: how local and brand prompts differ
Method. Read-only aggregate queries over MentionX scans from 22 August to 29 October 2026 (UTC): 2,217 engine runs (2,154 completed) across 18 anonymised projects and six engines.
The MentionX sample is mostly B2B software, not local businesses, so it can't show local results directly. It does show how much mention rates depend on prompt type:
| Intent | Brand mentioned | Share of voice |
|---|---|---|
| Brand-specific | 100% | 64.3 |
| Comparison | 91.9% | 44.6 |
| Recommendation | 29.2% | 26.8 |
| Best-of | 26.6% | 22.7 |
| Problem | 5.7% | 7.7 |
It also shows that Google's AI Mode cites sources in most answers, unlike some other engines:
| Engine | Brand mentioned | Answers with no citations |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini | 47.3% | 50.7% |
| OpenAI | 42.9% | 30.2% |
| Perplexity | 31.5% | 4.1% |
| AI Mode | 31.3% | 12.6% |
| Copilot | 26.0% | 47.0% |
| DeepSeek | 24.0% | 99.0% |
Our view: local "near me" and recommendation prompts behave like the recommendation and best-of rows above: brands are named less often, so complete, consistent profile data is one of the few levers a business controls.
Limits. A convenience sample of mostly B2B software projects, run through engine APIs, which can behave differently from the consumer apps. Perplexity, Copilot and DeepSeek figures come from a single day (26 October 2026), so treat them as a snapshot, not a trend.
Worked example: Ledgerline tidies its office listing
Ledgerline is a fictional accounts-payable tool. Figures are illustrative.
Ledgerline has a small office that hosts customer training days. Its Business Profile lists an old address, a generic category and no hours, and the website shows different opening times.
The operations manager claims the profile, updates the address, sets a more specific primary category and adds the training days as services. She makes the hours match the website and adds photos of the training room. She replies to the few existing reviews, thanking people and answering a question about parking. She then runs a handful of local prompts in AI Mode each month and notes what the answers say about the office.
How do you check profile accuracy?
Search for your business on Google and Maps from a phone and a desktop, signed out. Check the name, address, phone, hours, website link, categories and services. Compare them with your website and the main directories you use. Note any differences and fix them at the source, starting with the profile and your own site.
How do categories and services help?
The primary category tells Google what kind of business you are, and it affects which searches you appear in. Choose the most specific category that fits, and add secondary categories only when they're accurate. Services and products let you describe what you offer in your own words. Keep them factual and avoid stuffing them with keywords.
How do photos and posts help?
Photos show customers what to expect and keep a profile looking active. Add real photos of the premises, team and work. Posts can share updates, offers and events. They're useful for customers, but there's no public evidence that posting frequency alone changes AI answers.
How do you handle multiple locations?
Create a profile for each real location that customers can visit or that serves customers in person. Use a consistent naming pattern and make sure each one links to its own location page on your site. Don't create profiles for virtual offices or places you don't staff, which breaks Google's guidelines.
How should you ask for reviews?
Ask every customer, not only happy ones, and make it easy with a direct link. Don't offer incentives for reviews or filter who you ask, which breaks Google's rules. Reply to reviews politely and briefly, especially negative ones. Fix the issues people raise where you can.
What about your website's local pages?
Engines also read your site. Each location page should state the address, hours, services and areas served, with directions and parking information. Add LocalBusiness structured data that matches the visible content. Link to the page from your profile.
What should you avoid?
Avoid keyword-stuffed business names, fake locations, bought reviews and duplicate profiles. Each can lead to suspension. Avoid changing details often without reason, since frequent changes can trigger reviews by Google.
Who should own the profile?
Give one person responsibility, with a backup. Use a shared business account rather than a personal one, and keep a list of who has access. Review access when staff leave.
How do you track local prompts?
Write a small set of prompts customers might use, such as the service plus the area, or "best" plus the category plus the town. Run them monthly in AI Mode and other engines from the relevant location where possible, and record whether your business appears and what's said about it. Note that results vary by location and user, so look for patterns over several months rather than single changes. Our view: pair this with profile insights such as calls, direction requests and website clicks to get a fuller picture.
How do you handle holidays and closures?
Set special hours for public holidays and temporary closures well in advance. Update your website at the same time. Wrong holiday hours are a common source of complaints and poor reviews, and AI answers may repeat them.
Common questions
Do I need a Business Profile if I don't have a shop? Only if you serve customers in person, at your premises or at theirs.
Can AI Mode show wrong details? Yes; fix the source, usually your profile or website, and check again later.
How often should I update the profile? Whenever details change, and check it at least monthly.
Sources
- Google Business Profile Help, How Google sources & uses info in Business Profiles; Tips to improve your local ranking; Guidelines for representing your business; Profile Strength; Manage your Business Profile with the Gemini web app; Performance & insights; Connect to Google Analytics
- Google Maps User Generated Content Policy, Prohibited & restricted content
- Google, Expanding AI Overviews and introducing AI Mode; AI Mode updates from Google I/O 2025
- Google Search Help, Understand & manage your location
Questions
Does Google AI Mode use Business Profile data?
Google says AI Mode draws on fresh, real-time sources such as the Knowledge Graph and information about the real world as well as web content. Business Profiles are displayed across Google Search and Maps, so keeping them accurate is the safest assumption.
Can I edit my Business Profile through Gemini?
Google says you can connect a Business Profile to the Gemini web app to update hours and contact info, draft review replies and posts, and summarise reviews, with eligibility limits such as having only one verified profile.
Can I see AI Mode traffic for my Business Profile?
Not separately. Business Profile performance shows views, searches and interactions from Search and Maps, and you can link it to GA4, but neither isolates AI Mode.