Where do AI assistants get information about local businesses?

Mostly from business listings, reviews and websites. Google builds Business Profiles from websites, licensed data, user contributions and owners, and its Ask Maps feature answers from over 300 million places and reviews. ChatGPT shows Yelp reviews, ratings and business details under a licensing agreement. Microsoft Copilot searches with Bing, and Apple uses Apple Business for place cards across Maps, Safari, Spotlight and Siri.

Which Google Business Profile fields matter most for AI answers?

The ones that answer customers' questions: a specific primary category (plus up to nine more), the real business name without keywords, hours and special hours, services with prices, attributes such as accessibility, a direct booking link, a description of up to 750 characters, current photos, and recent reviews with replies. Google says complete and accurate profiles are more likely to show up in local results.

Can other people change my Google Business Profile?

Yes. Google can update profiles from user reports and licensed data. Owners have four days to reject a suggested edit before Google may publish it, and some edits go live without review. Google may also confirm details by automated call, text or WhatsApp and update the profile from the answers.

Do I need Bing Places and Apple Business as well as Google?

Yes, if you want every assistant to have the same facts. Copilot searches with Bing, and Apple's apps use Apple Business. Both are free; Bing Places can import from a Google Business Profile, and Apple Business replaced Apple Business Connect on 14 April 2026.

What happened to Q&A on Google Business Profiles?

Customers' Q&A was replaced by AI answers from late 2025, built from the business's information and reviews, and the Q&A API was discontinued on 3 November 2025.

Insights · Local businesses

Your Google listing is now your AI profile

When someone asks an AI assistant “who's good near me?”, the answer is built largely from business listings and reviews, not only your website. This guide shows where each assistant looks, which fields change the answer, and how to fix yours in under an hour.

Dirk LaudonFounder, SproutMedia · 29 September 2026 · 14 minute read

An AI assistant's answer · illustration

Who's good for balayage near Rathmines, open this Saturday?

Juniper Hair Studio Business listing · fictional

CategoriesHair salon · Colourist
ServicesBalayage from €120
HoursSat 9:00–17:00
Reviews4.8 · 212
BookingBook online

Every fact in that answer is one a listing can supply.If a field is empty or wrong, the answer is too, or it names someone else.

Checked on 29 September 2026 against Google's, Microsoft's, Apple's, OpenAI's and Yelp's own pages. Juniper Hair Studio is fictional. No one can guarantee an AI will recommend a business; the aim is that everything it says about you is right.

The short version

Four things to know first

Your listing used to be a pin on a map. Now it's the fact sheet AI assistants read out when a customer asks about you.

AI answers local questions from listings

Google's AI uses your Business Profile and reviews. ChatGPT shows Yelp's data. Copilot searches with Bing. Apple uses Apple Business.

An empty field becomes “I couldn't confirm”

If your hours, prices or services aren't listed, an assistant can't promise them, and often names a business that did list them.

You have more than one listing

Google, Bing, Apple and Yelp each hold their own copy of your business. Assistants that read different copies give different answers.

Other people edit your listing too

Google and Apple change listings from customer reports. Google gives you four days to reject a suggested edit.

45%

of US consumers used ChatGPT or another AI for local recommendations, up from 6% a year earlier

BrightLocal survey of 1,002 US adults, Feb 2026

300M+

places, and reviews from over 500 million contributors, that Google's Ask Maps answers from

Google, Mar 2026

42%

of AI citations for local-type questions came from business listings; 44% from websites

Yext analysis of 6.8M citations, Oct 2025

4 days

to reject a suggested edit to your Google profile before Google may publish it

Google Business Profile Help

Where they look

Each assistant reads a different listing

Pick an assistant to see which sources its makers have confirmed, and which are only reported. This is why one listing isn't enough.

GoogleAI Overviews, AI Mode, Ask Maps

Google Business Profile
Bing Places
Apple Business
Yelp
Your website
Reviews
Booking platforms
Foursquare

Google builds profiles from your website, licensed data, users' contributions and you. Ask Maps answers questions from more than 300 million places and reviews from over 500 million contributors.

Confirmed by the company Reported, not confirmed

Try it

Fill in the listing, watch the answer change

A customer wants balayage near Rathmines on Saturday, with step-free access, under €150. Tap the fields to fill them in or clear them.

The listing · tap a field to fill it in or clear it

Juniper Hair Studio Rathmines, Dublin 6 · fictional

Listing complete: 2 of 7

What an AI assistant can say · illustration

Balayage near Rathmines this Saturday? Step-free access, under €150.

Balayage Saturday Step-free Under €150

Juniper Hair Studio in Rathmines is a hair salon with a colourist on the team. I couldn't find their prices. I couldn't confirm Saturday opening. Accessibility isn't stated, so you may want to call. They describe themselves as colour specialists. Its reviews are well rated but mostly old. You'd need to phone to book.

Recommended instead: Birch Hair Co.A competitor whose listing answers the parts yours doesn't.

An illustration of how gaps show up. No one can guarantee an AI will recommend a business.

Field by field

Ten fields that shape the answer

What each part of your Google profile does for an AI answer, the mistake we see most, and the fix. Google says complete, accurate profiles are more likely to show up.

FieldWhat it doesThe common mistakeThe fix

Business nameThe name an assistant repeats and matches across listings.Adding keywords or places: “Juniper Hair | Best Balayage Dublin”.Use the name on your sign. Google doesn't allow extras and can suspend a profile for them.

CategoriesTells Google what you are, which decides the questions you appear for.A vague primary category, or categories used as keywords.Pick the most specific primary category. Add up to nine more, only for what you are, not what you have.

DescriptionUp to 750 characters, shown as “From the business”.Left empty, or filled with offers and links.Say who you serve, what you're known for and where. No URLs or promotions.

Hours and special hoursAnswers “open now?” and “open Saturday?”.No holiday hours, so Google may warn that your hours might differ.Set special hours before every holiday. Closed a week or more? Mark temporarily closed.

Services and pricesLets an assistant say what you do and roughly what it costs.No services, or “prices on request”.List your main services with “from” prices.

AttributesAnswers accessibility, payment and amenity questions, and identity ones such as women-owned.Left empty. Some attributes are filled in from customers' answers.Set everything that's true, and check what customers added.

Booking linkLets people, and agents, book straight from the listing.Linking to your homepage.Link to the booking page itself, or use a Reserve with Google partner.

PhotosGoogle can now pick up opening hours from storefront photos that people upload.Old photos showing old opening hours.Current storefront, inside and your work. Update the sign on the door too.

Reviews and repliesMore reviews and good ratings help local ranking, and AI answers draw on review text.Old reviews and no replies.Ask every customer, reply to reviews, and never offer rewards or only ask happy customers.

Phone and websiteThe details an assistant hands the customer.A call-centre number, or a website that redirects to Facebook.A local number, and your own website. Up to three phone numbers are allowed.

Spot the mismatch

Three listings, one business

The same salon on Google, Bing and Apple. Four details are wrong or don't match. Can you find them?

Tap every detail that's wrong or doesn't match · 0 picked

Google Business Profile

Bing Places

Apple Business

Other editors

Four days to say no

Google changes listings from customer reports and licensed data. You get four days to reject a suggested edit; some go live without review. Try it: let the days pass, or reject it in time.

Someone suggests your salon is closed on Saturdays.

Your Business Profile has a suggested editHours: Saturday → Closed · from a user report

Juniper Hair StudioHair salon · Rathmines · fictional

Friday9:00–18:00
Saturday9:00–17:00
SundayClosed

AI answer: “Juniper is open Saturday, 9 to 5.”

What's changed

Six changes since you last looked

If you set up your listing a few years ago and left it, these are the things that work differently now.

ReplacedQuestions and answers

Customers' Q&A on Google was replaced by AI answers from late 2025, built from your information and reviews. The Q&A developer tools ended on 3 November 2025.

EndedChat on your profile

Google's own chat ended in July 2024. Some regions now offer WhatsApp or text-message contact options instead.

US onlyGoogle calling you

Google's AI can phone businesses to ask about prices and availability for customers. Verified businesses can opt out in Advanced settings.

LiveGoogle checking your details

Google may contact your verified number by automated call, text or WhatsApp to confirm details, and use the answers to update your profile. Check “Collected info”.

Not in EuropeManaging your profile in Gemini

Since June 2026, owners can update hours and draft review replies in the Gemini app. Google says it isn't available in the EEA or the UK.

NewApple Business

Replaced Apple Business Connect on 14 April 2026. Free, in more than 200 countries, and your old data moved over automatically.

Common problems

Four problems to check for

The listing problems that most often give an assistant the wrong facts, and what to do about each.

Duplicates

Two listings for one business split your reviews and confuse assistants about which is right.

Fix: Google has a duplicate-removal process. Removing one deletes its content, so move what you need first.

Holiday hours

Without special hours, Google may show customers a warning that your hours might differ.

Fix: Add special hours a week before each bank holiday.

Marked closed by mistake

A wrong “permanently closed” can come from a customer report. Apple also edits place cards from closure reports.

Fix: On Google, reopen under Edit profile › Hours. On Apple, you're emailed and can dispute it.

Suspended for the name

Keywords, places or phone numbers in the business name break Google's guidelines.

Fix: Keep the real name. Put services in the categories and description instead.

Reviews

Ask for reviews, the right way

Reviews feed both local ranking and AI summaries; in BrightLocal's US survey, 97% of consumers read them. The rules on how you get them are strict.

WhereThe ruleSince

Google's policyNo rewards for reviews, no asking only happy customers, no pressure on the premises.Now

United StatesThe FTC rule bans buying or selling fake reviews, including AI-written ones, and suppressing bad ones.Since 21 Oct 2024

United KingdomFake reviews and hidden paid-for reviews are banned under the DMCC Act, with fines of up to 10% of turnover.Since 6 Apr 2025

European UnionFake reviews are banned, and businesses must say whether and how they check reviews are genuine.Since 28 May 2022

In Ireland and the UKSome AI features arrive later

Managing your profile through Gemini isn't available in the EEA or the UK, and Google hasn't confirmed whether Ask Maps covers Ireland or the UK. Google's booking in AI Mode reached UK restaurants in April 2026.

In Ireland, add your Eircode and check the pin sits on your door. That's good practice, not a Google rule, but it helps every map and assistant find you.

This week

The 45-minute listing tune-up

Three free listings, one notification setting and a monthly habit. This is where most local businesses get the biggest return for the least effort.

Google, 20 minutes

Name, specific categories, description, hours and special hours, services with prices, booking link, attributes.

Turn on notifications

So a suggested edit, a “Collected info” change or a closure report reaches you within the four days.

Bing Places, 10 minutes

Free at bing.com/forbusiness. Import from your Google profile rather than typing it all again.

Apple Business, 10 minutes

Free at business.apple.com. Claim your location and check hours, phone and website.

Once a month, ask an assistant

Ask what your customers would ask, and fix the source of anything wrong.

For the monthly check, our guide on how to check what AI assistants say about your business has the questions to ask and how to trace a wrong answer to its source.

The bigger picture

The listing you set up once is now read every day

For years a business listing was something you set up once and forgot. Now it's what AI assistants read when a customer asks for a recommendation, and they read it literally: an empty field becomes a gap in the answer, and an old phone number becomes the one the customer is given.

The fix isn't expensive. It's an hour of careful work across three free listings, and a few minutes a month to keep them true. We'll update this guide as Google, Apple and the AI assistants change what they read, and the date at the top will tell you when we last checked.

Written byDirk LaudonFounder, SproutMedia

AI specialist with a master's degree in Business Informatics, studied in Germany and Sweden with a focus on artificial intelligence. Dirk has spent years building software and apps, and has worked hands-on in e-commerce, affiliate marketing and social media, so he knows how customers find and choose a business online. At SproutMedia he helps businesses get ready for their customers' AI assistants and agents.

SproutMedia writes about AI agents and agent readiness for local and service businesses in Ireland, Europe, the United States and beyond.

Sources

Checked on 29 September 2026. Figures from BrightLocal, Yext and Steady Demand come from companies that sell listing or marketing services. Features and availability differ by country and change often. General information, not legal advice.