Google added a new section to the "Understand available performance metrics" within the Google Business Profiles help documentation. The new section added a section on offer data and it shows the number of times customers viewed and clicked on offers on your Business Profile.

This was spotted Hiroko Imai who posted about it on LinkedIn. He wrote, "Google Business Profile's help page "Understand your Business Profile performance" has added documentation about Offers data."

It does indeed seem new to that help page.

But the Offer data is not yet available for most businesses to see, so keep an eye out...

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google is testing encouraging business owners to reply to reviews using AI. There is a new option in the Google Business Profile dashboard that is showing for some businesses that says "Reply to reviews with AI."

It goes on to say, "Use Google AI to create personalised replies that build trust."

I personally do not see this option for my business in Google but Chandan Mishra posted a screenshot of this on LinkedIn and wrote, "I gave it a quick test, and it looks promising but doesn't seem fully optimized at this stage."

Here is that screenshot:

Chandan Mishra added, "Interestingly, it directed me to an older one star review and prompted me to generate a suggested reply. The response it produced was actually quite decent. However, when I tried to use the same feature for other unanswered reviews, the option wasn't available."

I don't think this is against Google's review policies but maybe I missed it.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Google seems to have added a new section to the Google Business Profiles section named Place page attributes. Place page attributes allows you to let customers know more about your business by showing attributes on your Business Profile. These may appear publicly on Search, Maps, and other Google services.

Then it offers you to select a Primary chat method, I see:

• Facebook Messenger
• KakaoTalk
• LINE
• Text message
• WhatsApp

I spotted this via Shoichi Hasegawa who wrote on X, "Japanese user can register one of the following as an available chat option: Facebook Messenger, KakaoTalk, LINE, WhatsApp, or Text messaging."

I think this is newish, but I am not sure. The learn more link goes to this location.

Forum discussion at X.

Google just announced "Ask Maps", which is a new feature in Google Maps that leverages Gemini to help users research local businesses, plan trips, get recommendations, and more. I've had to the opportunity to test "Ask Maps" over the past week and it's powerful. I was also able to get on a call with the Gemini team to ask questions about the feature, where it's headed, if ads are coming, and more. You can read my post about "Ask Maps" to see examples of the feature in action and to learn more about what I think.

"Ask Maps" is rolling out today to users in the U.S. and India in the Google Maps app (both Android and iOS are supported with the rollout). And desktop is coming soon according to the post.

Here is a gif of the feature in action. This was provided to me by Google during my week of testing:

Some additional notes: With the initial rollout, ads are not part of "Ask Maps" yet. I was told that's not part of the feature at this stage but they are not ruling that out. To me, it's a logical and smart place for local ads to show up, so I'm sure we will see that at some point.

Tracking-wise, I was told standard maps impressions apply. So I'm assuming that will show up in GBP reporting, but will not be broken out (at least yet). It would be great to see "Ask Maps" show up as a new surface there in GBP... Stay tuned on that front.

If Local Search is important for your business, then I highly recommend digging in soon to see how your business shows up, what customer sentiment looks like, and how your overall listings look while part of the AI response.

GG

Recently, Google rolled out the ability to schedule Google Posts. Supposedly, soon, Google will also roll out recurring scheduling for posts. So you can set a Google Post to repeat and post over and over again on a schedule.

This was posted by Syed M. Amir Hassan who said Google Product Manager, Mike Gnagy, announced this in a live workshop. Syed wrote on X, "According to Michael Gnagy in a live workshop, Google is soon to roll out a new feature in Google Business Profile posts: you'll soon be able to schedule posts on repetition."

Here are some of his screenshots:

So if you have a special every Thursday, you can have it post weekly.

For more on this live webinar, you can see notes on Neeraj Kumar Chaurasia's LinkedIn.

Forum discussion at X.

Some time ago, Google updated the flow for the Google Business Profile verification. And the issue is, if you fill it out wrong, it can have consequences for that Google business listing in the future.

These details were posted by Claudia Tomina who posted on LinkedIn about this saying, "Google is updating the Business Profile verification flow, and it's a potential trap for the unprepared." Claudia added that "the options you select here carry heavy weight regarding compliance and future suspension risk."

During the flow, it asks you to pick "What option best describes your business?" The options include:

• My business has a physical location for customers like a restaurant or shop.
• My business has a physical location but travels to work at customers' locations. For example, a plumber or a photographer.
• My business travels to meet customers without a staffed physical location. Examples include personal trainers and dog walkers.
• My business is an unstaffed facility where a transaction can take place and contact information for customer support is available. Examples include AT and electric vehicle charging points.
• My business is online only.

Here is a screenshot:

Here is how Claudia broke it down:

• Online Only: If you select "My business is online only," you are effectively disqualifying yourself. We know online-only businesses do not qualify for a GBP. I would imagine you could get suspended if you submit this.
• The Hybrid Model: "My business has a physical location but travels to work at customers' locations." This is the classic Service Area Business (SAB) with a storefront. My concern here? This could trigger a workflow that eventually suspends the profile or forces the address to be hidden if the documentation doesn't perfectly match the selection.
• The Staffing Requirement: One option specifies businesses that travel without a staffed physical location (e.g., personal trainers, dog walkers). Remember: Google guidelines state your business must be staffed to show the address. Choosing this will likely force your profile into a "hidden address" SAB status.
• The Exceptions: The "unstaffed facility" option for ATMs and EV charging stations might be the outlier. These are the only cases where unstaffed entities get a pass on the physical presence rule.

This is all good to have in mind, the only issue is that small businesses likely will never see this advice before they complete this flow.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

We've seen Google use AI for local panel descriptions, menus and more. But now Google is also using AI to generate a list of services a local business offers.

The AI-generated service list for Google local business panels was spotted by Joy Hawkins who wrote on X, "Google is now showing AI-generated services on knowledge panels for small businesses. The description is also AI-generated."

Here is her screenshot:

She also posted a video of it in action:

Google is now showing AI-generated services on knowledge panels for small businesses. The description is also AI-generated. pic.twitter.com/qRP36AyRgV

— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) February 20, 2026

More AI everywhere...

Forum discussion at X.

Google is now (past few weeks?) sending out emails when it detects fake or incentivised reviews on your Google Business Profile. Google also says it has removed the fake or incentivised reviews that were identified.

Google wrote, "The fake or incentivised reviews identified were removed. If we continue to find fake or incentivised reviews that attempt to increase your star rating, this may lead to restrictions being applied on your profile."

I spotted this via Ben Fisher who posted a screenshot of this on X:

As a reminder, last week we covered that Google updated its local review policies and also we saw reviews dropping out of local listings.

Maybe it is all related?

Forum discussion at X.

As I noted in my story yesterday about Google reviews dropping out, Google has updated the Google Business Profiles review policies, the Prohibited & restricted content section.

I was hoping to provide the exact details of what changed but the archive I have of it is not working. In any event, Hiroko Imai summed up the changes on LinkedIn and Hiroko said these updated sections cause his attention the most - but there are probably more:

(1) "Content exhibiting unusual volumes or patterns of review contributions that are indicative of efforts to manipulate a place's rating."

(2) "We do not allow merchants to:
Offer incentives '" such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services - in exchange for posting any review or revision or removal of a negative review.
Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers
When soliciting reviews, merchants should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises, nor should they request that specific content be included."

I really wish I had the full list of changes to share with you but either way, it is always good to scan through these documents every now and then to make sure you are up-to-date on these expectations.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn and X.

There has been an uptick in complaints from businesses around Google local reviews disappearing or being removed. We had something similar last October and it was fixed in December and now I am seeing more complaints about reviews going missing.

There are many many threads with complaints about this across the Google forums and in the Local Search Forums - I'll embed them below.

Joy Hawkins highlighted the issue the other day and while it is not impacting all businesses, it does seem like an unusually number of businesses are impacted.

Lost 20+ reviews a couple weeks ago.. were at 994 or so, now at 974 with 0 reviews added after the beginning of Feb.

I have customers that told us they gave us a great review.. nothing shows.

We ran 200+ jobs in the past 15 days and ask for reviews on all of them... Yet 0 are'...

'" Rob Brooks (@therobertbrooks) February 18, 2026

Hiroko Imai thinks this might be related to an update to the Google Business reviews policies, he said on LinkedIn, "The Google Business Profile policy has been updated. Here's why you may have seen a sudden drop in reviews recently." The Wayback Machine is bugging out on me, so it is hard for me to do a comparison right now but I'll post more details below of the change.

Here are some comments from businesses:

I have seen another day of reviews being deleted/hidden as reported by Local Viking all within about the last 30 minutes, but instead of being single reviews many are multiple reviews, with the highest being 76 deleted reviews for a restaurant location . . . all over the last 4 years, and a mix of mostly 5 star but also 1, 2, 3 and 4 star reviews.

Seeing same issue. Real reviews, not spam junk.

According to their team, they report this whenever a review is removed, although it can make its way back. When checking manually, most of these removals are sticking.

This week, the three 5 star reviews were removed leaving just the spam 1 star, and a 2 star review. This is a huge reputational hit to my business and as a new business its not like I have even a customer a day that I can ask for a review. I'm just starting out and do 1 or 2 weddings a year and maybe a dozen family sessions.

We received 260 reviews last week, yet 100 of them were removed today. Apparently they have been flagged as spam or not being organic? Our rating has dropped .2 and will continue to do so. Why are we being penalized for bringing in legitimate reviews?

The Reviews menu on Google maps often disappeared for me since Feb 11th

Here are some of the complaint threads:

• A new deleted/hidden reviews record, Local Search Forum
• All my reviews are missing!, Google
• All Positive Reviews removed, Google
• Google Reviews, Google
• Google Reviews Removed By Google, Google
• Legitimate Google Reviews Missing!, Google
• The Reviews menu on Google maps often disappeared for me since Feb 11th, Google
• Around 250 reviews got missing from my google business profile, Google
• Question about missing review, Local Search Forum

Are any of you noticing this?

Hiroko Imai said about the policy changes that these caught his eye in the document:

• "Content exhibiting unusual volumes or patterns of review contributions that are indicative of efforts to manipulate a place's rating."
• "We do not allow merchants to: Offer incentives '" such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services - in exchange for posting any review or revision or removal of a negative review.
• Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers
• When soliciting reviews, merchants should not require or pressure users to leave ratings or write reviews while on the premises, nor should they request that specific content be included.

Hiroko wrote, "This means we should also remove reviews if there's any doubt about the authenticity of the writing process. While they don't explicitly use the term "gating," I appreciate that they mentioned "selectively soliciting positive reviews from customers.""

Forum discussion at threads above.

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.