Google will stop showing the business short names on Google Business Profiles in Search and Google Maps. The short name will still work, if you have one, but going forward, the link in your Google Business Profile will no longer be displayed to you or searchers.

Dan Boguslavsky posted this news in the Google Business Profile Forums - he wrote, "We want to let you know about an upcoming change to the business short name feature regarding the ability to create short, custom URLs, for example g.page/YourBusinessName."

Short names will no longer be displayed on the Business Profile, and customers can no longer report or flag them. This change is part of our ongoing efforts to simplify the product experience.

Also, keep in mind that businesses are currently unable to create new short names or edit existing ones.

Here is a summary of this announcement:

• Short names and URLs that already exist will still work but will no longer be shown on the Business Profile to customers.
• You and your customers will no longer see an option to report an existing Short Name.
• Short names and URLs that already exist will still work.

Google introduced this feature in 2019 and started to display them on your profiles shortly later.

Forum discussion at Google Business Profile Forums.

Google is testing labeling some photos in the local hotel listings with "Good to Know" AI-generated descriptions of some of those photos. These labels seem to summarize what the photo and reviews say about the specific area of that hotel.

This was spotted by Lluc B. Penycate who posted a number of screenshots and videos of this on X - I tried to replicate these but I was not successful. Here are some of his photos:

Lluc wrote, ""Good to Know" AI description/summary text appearing in photos of the hotels listings on Google Hotels. For both owner photos and visitor photos, but it does not show on all the photos. It also includes a link to Hotel Prices."

Here are some more:

"Good to Know" AI description/summary text appearing in photos of the hotels listings on Google Hotels. For both owner photos and visitor photos, but it does not show on all the photos. It also includes a link to Hotel Prices. pic.twitter.com/j9uFhMHUfy

'" Lluc B. Penycate ''¶ (@Lluc_SEO) January 31, 2026

Photos from visitors with Good to Know, filter out user reviews on the topic. pic.twitter.com/Dx3CeG34n6

'" Lluc B. Penycate ''¶ (@Lluc_SEO) January 31, 2026

Forum discussion at X.

Before the December holidays, Google posted a notice that review appeals for Google Business Profiles were delayed. Well, Google just removed the notice, which likely means the extended delays for review appeals are no longer an issue.

The notice read (Wayback Machine):

Important: Due to an unusually high volume of review related appeals, processing times are currently extended. Please do not submit duplicate appeals as this causes further delays. We'll notify you as soon as your appeal is processed. Please visit this Community post for more information.

Now that notice message has been removed from the page, see the live page.

So go at it with your review appeals!

Forum discussion at Google Business Profiles Help.

Google has updated its tips to get more reviews help documentation with a new section on tips to write better review replies. This section includes how to make your replies positive and relevant and a section on giving helpful responses to negative reviews.

The whole document was updated but the significant updates were those two sections.

Here is that content:

Your replies are public and help you build good relationships with customers. When you reply to customers, keep these guidelines in mind.

Make your replies positive & relevant

• Be nice and stay professional: Keep your replies clear, helpful, and polite. Like reviews, replies must follow our policies. Learn more about Google's content policies.
• Keep it short and simple: Customers appreciate genuine and helpful replies, but long ones might overwhelm them.
• Respond if necessary: Reply when you have new or relevant info to share. Each response can reach many customers, so you don't need to thank every reviewer publicly.
• Be a friend, not a salesperson: Your reviewers are already customers, so there's no need to offer deals or promotions. Share new details or facts about your business that they might not know from their first visit.

Give helpful responses to negative reviews

Important: You can flag a review if you believe that it violates Google's content policies. Learn how to report inappropriate reviews.

Negative reviews aren't necessarily a sign of poor business practices. Customer feedback presents opportunities to learn what they expect and may help you find ways to improve future experiences.

When you reply to negative reviews, consider these tips:

• Protect privacy and avoid personal attacks: Never share the reviewer's private info. Do not attack them personally. This applies on Maps, other services, or in person. You can request the reviewer to contact you, in person, email, or phone to help resolve the issue. A positive reply and follow-up can show that you care and may encourage them to update their review.
• Find out why the reviewer had a negative experience: Check your records about the reviewer and their visit.
• Be honest and explain limitations: Admit mistakes that were made, but don't take responsibility for things outside your control. Explain what you can and can't do in the situation. For example, if bad weather causes you to cancel an event, explain that you monitor the weather and send advance cancellation notices when possible.
• Apologize if needed: Show empathy and express that you understand how they feel.
• Personalize your reply: Sign your reply with your name or initials. This helps your response feel more authentic.
• Respond in a timely manner: This shows that you value your customer's feedback and experiences.

You can compare the live version with the archived version.

I spotted this via Hiroko Imai who posted this on LinkedIn and wrote, "I appreciated how these sections are thoroughly explained. This help page is one that merchants in particular should definitely read."

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google's Gemini may be rolling out new local results, it may be new, I am not sure. But the details it shows may give you insight into how Google understands and interprets your business. Gemini gives new headlines and sections about your business based on what it thinks it knows about it.

This was spotted by Claudia Tomnia who wrote on LinkedIn, "I was convinced AI Mode was going to be Google's AI-powered future for local search."

The new sections include:

• "People talk most about": In several examples, this is just a straight-up list of exactly three menu items. For one spot, it was literally just: omakase, sake, nigiri.
• "People love to order": This section gets a star icon and goes deeper than just listing names. It includes brief descriptions of specific dishes, like noting a Michigan Roll has a "generous portion of tuna."
• "Tips from reviewers": This is pure utility data pulled from the reviews. it's logistical advice like warning you that "plates are small," "it can get pretty loud," or that you have to order on a touch-screen kiosk.
• "People go here for": This defines the actual use case of the venue. Gemini is categorizing spots based on vibe, like whether it's for "impressing a date" or just "grabbing a casual bite."

Here is the video she shared of this:

Super interesting, and as she said, "Take a look at how Gemini is interpreting your business."

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Over the past few weeks, Google has been showing AI Overviews for local packs, leading some businesses to see huge drops in visibility for their Google Business Profile and local listings. Some businesses are seeing 50% declines or more because of the local pack change.

Joy Hawkins dug deep into this in a blog post named AI is Quietly Taking Over Local SEO! No One's Ready for This and she has been sharing these findings on X for the past few weeks.

Here is an example, of a side-by-side, AI Overview replacing a local pack. On the left is the default new AI Overview, on the right is an account that does not get AI Overviews and it shows the normal local pack:

Here is an example Joy shared on X back on December 30th:

I've been tracking AI powered local packs. This horrible feature displaces/replaces the traditional 3-pack. In my write-up about this, I talked about how it's lowering traffic to Google business profiles while increasing clicks to ads.

I thought it going down from 3 businesses'... pic.twitter.com/4fIFhX2uJb

— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) December 30, 2025

Joy wrote, "I've been tracking AI powered local packs. This horrible feature displaces/replaces the traditional 3-pack. In my write-up about this, I talked about how it's lowering traffic to Google business profiles while increasing clicks to ads."

That screenshot is from Joy's blog post showing how calls can significantly disappear when this happens.

"According to data from Places Scout, AI Local Packs are already appearing on roughly 8% of keywords (and rising)," she wrote.

Here is her video:

Yep, so AI Overviews are now killing local SEO in a big way...

Oh damn, @JoyanneHawkins is right. AI Local packs are showing up more and more. I just saw one -> AI is Quietly Taking Over Local SEO! No One's Ready for This

Here's the problem:
*Fewer Spots: They often show only 1 or 2 businesses instead of the usual 3.
*No Call Buttons: Many'... pic.twitter.com/NHWzL0pAJO

— Glenn Gabe (@glenngabe) January 15, 2026

Forum discussion at X.

Google seems to have a bug that prevents searchers from leaving hotel reviews directly in the Google Search desktop interface. It works fine within Google Maps and Hotel search interfaces but not in the web search interface.

It shows a notice that reads, "Posting is currently turned off."

Here is a screenshot for [New York Marriott Marquis]:

This is a feature, but it seems like a bug. When you click on details, it shows, "Posting is currently turned off for this type of place. Some types of places are more likely to receive posts, like reviews, that violate Google's policies. To prevent this, Google has turned off posting."

But again, it seems to be occuring for all hotels in the web search interface.

This was spotted by Valentina Vasileva who posted about it on X and then Tim Capper added, "No Idea - appears to be Global. Has to be a bug."

No Idea - appears to be Global. Has to be a bug

'" Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) January 12, 2026

Forum discussion at X.

Greg Gifford, a veteran automotive and local SEO, published a hard warning to vendors suggesting that they tell automotive dealerships to set up separate Google Business Profile department listings for separate services. He said, do not, do not, do this and that it can lead to your Google Business Profiles being suspended and removed from Google Search and Google Maps.

Greg Gifforf posted this on LinkedIn a couple of weeks ago. This seems to come after Google removed departments from these listings as a new feature?

I was notified of this in mid-November but I am not clear exactly what this means - here are those posts:

@GoogleMyBiz dealership listings are now missing departments on their main GBP. What is happening? First Google Cars For Sale is removed now departments. Even though they are listed on each department listing as located within the main listing. @rustybrick @GregGifford @JohnMu

'" Dealer Micro Sites (@microsites) November 18, 2025

is this a bug or intentional or you dont know?

'" Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) November 27, 2025

Still trying to understand this. I see the following examples pic.twitter.com/rWMaD5gKPE

'" Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) December 1, 2025

coming back to this, still trying to understand what changed. I see the same thing that screenshots from two years ago show https://t.co/UZlpyGAUAv pic.twitter.com/cvRkaAbq7S

'" Barry Schwartz (@rustybrick) December 26, 2025

But I didn't hear back. So I am obviously missing something...

But now Greg posted on LinkedIn:

Auto dealers -

I found ANOTHER automotive vendor talking about setting up separate Google Business Profile department listings for separate services (oil change, tires, etc)... And this one just released a white paper talking about the results.

DO NOT fall for this crap. It's really far over the line of breaking the rules. If you get caught doing this, all the repercussions fall on your dealership, not the vendor who told you it was a good idea. You'll get every profile suspended - including your primary profile, which means you'll lose massive amounts of visibility in search results. It's also likely that when you get your main profile restored, you'll have lost a portion of your reviews.

Dealerships are only allowed to set up department GBPs for the service department, parts department, and body shop. If you're a Stellantis dealer or a GM dealer, you can also set up a profile for each individual brand (the rules allow it, but you shouldn't go that far).

ANY other department profiles are against Google's rules and you risk MAJOR problems down the road. Keep in mind - it's also highly likely that the vendors suggesting this will get caught, and every dealership they did it for will then get found and penalized as well.

Don't risk your business on a stupid strategy like this!

So set them up as services and not departments... Greg later explained, "make sure the name starts with "[brand] service" and no the dealership name. Use the service phone number, and make sure the website link points to the service page. be sure the primary category is a service category - and you should be good."

There is a huge thread of responses to what Greg posted, so check out the thread.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.