How Important is Google Business Profile for AI Mode?

Very. Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is no longer just a listing for maps. It’s a key source of information that Google’s AI uses to answer questions about your business.

Why? The way people search for information is always changing. It’s moving away from typing keywords and clicking through ten blue links to asking a conversational question and getting a direct answer.

This shift is driven by Google’s AI-first approach, and it means that your Google Business Profile is now a critical element of any AI Overview or AI Mode strategy.

In this blog, we’ll look at how Google’s AI pulls information from your Business Profile, why this matters for visibility in AI Mode, and how you can optimise your profile.

TL;DR – Key takeaways

• Your Google Business Profile is a source of information for AI: Google’s AI is built to synthesise accurate, structured data. Your GBP provides a clean, verifiable dataset. The more complete and consistent your profile, the more confident Google’s AI will be in using it as a primary source, increasing your chances of being featured in a direct answer.
• Improves visibility beyond the website: With AI Mode, your information is served directly to the user. This means your brand, star rating and key services can be shown without the user ever leaving the search results page. This “zero-click” engagement is a new form of visibility and brand building.
• The Maps connection is key: Your GBP is linked to your Google Maps listing. This connection allows the AI to not only pull basic information but also to understand a business’s geographic relevance, popular times and service. This combination of data allows the AI to provide a more comprehensive and contextually aware answer.

Google’s internal ecosystem and AI Mode

Google’s goal is to create a seamless, end-to-end user experience that keeps people within its own ecosystem. This is not just a technical decision; it’s a strategic business move. 

By providing comprehensive answers and services across its platforms – Search, Maps, Reviews, Shopping, and now AI Mode – Google positions itself as a one-stop shop for everything the user might be looking for. AI Overviews (AIO) are the latest and most significant rollout of this strategy.

Why this matters

At the core of the Google ecosystem is your Google Business Profile (GBP). It’s the hub connecting your locations, services, reviews and posts across Google platforms. 

By maintaining a complete and accurate GBP, you feed Google’s AI the structured, verifiable data it relies on to confidently feature your business. 

Google prioritises its own platforms because it wants users to stay within its ecosystem. By showing these trusted internal sources first, the AI can deliver answers while keeping people on Google’s platforms rather than sending them elsewhere.

Key insights

• Google’s Strategic Response to the AI Threat: The introduction of AI Overviews (AIO)  and AI mode was Google’s response to the rise of large language models like ChatGPT. By integrating AI directly into its search engine, Google is fighting to stay the first and most trusted source of information while keeping users inside its ecosystem.
• Google Reviews Are a Key AI Signal: Within its ecosystem, Google gives priority to reviews on its own platforms, like Google Reviews, because it can verify and control the data. That said, third-party review sites such as Trustpilot may still appear, but Google’s AI prefers its own sources when determining trustworthiness and authority. Businesses with recent, positive reviews are more likely to be shown.
• A Strong GBP as Your SEO Foundation: As search becomes more conversational, the basic details about your business are more important than ever. Google prioritises its own Business Profile data because it can verify and control it, giving its AI a reliable dataset to work from. A complete, high-quality GBP ensures your business is accurately represented in AI Overviews, direct answers and other search features. While other platforms may provide supplementary data, your GBP forms the foundation that keeps you competitive in an AI-driven search.

How to optimise your Google Business Profile for AI Mode

With AI mode and AI overview, your profile needs to provide accurate, structured information that Google’s AI can rely on. Regularly reviewing and updating your profile is essential to ensure your business appears in AI Overviews, direct answers and other AI search features. 

The strategies below explain what to do, where to do it, and why it matters.

1. Complete and Accurate Information

Google’s AI treats your Google Business Profile (GBP) as a primary, trusted source. Any gaps, inconsistencies or outdated information can reduce your chances of appearing in AI-driven responses. 

Here’s what you need to keep updated on your profile: 

• Business name and address: Ensure your business details match exactly across your GBP, website and other directories. Any differences can confuse Google’s AI and reduce your profile’s credibility. 
• Business hours: Make sure your opening hours are always current and include all relevant locations. AI factors location relevance heavily, so accurate, up-to-date details are crucial.
• Categories and services: List every relevant service using precise terminology. Accurate categories make it easier for Google to match your business to specific search queries. 

Regularly maintained information increases the likelihood that your business will be recognised as a trusted and authoritative source, particularly in AI Mode and AI Overview (AIO) cards.

2. Google Reviews

Google’s AI uses structured data to decide which businesses to show in its direct answers. Reviews are one of the clearest, easy to verify signals that a business is trustworthy and active. 

Profiles with positive, recent reviews are more likely to be pulled into AI Overview cards, Knowledge Panels and other zero-click results. In short, if your reviews are strong and up to date, Google is more confident in displaying your business directly, without requiring the user to click through to your website.

Here’s what you need to do: 

• Ask for reviews: Encourage clients or partners to leave feedback after a service. Personalised requests work best.
• Follow-up emails: Include a direct link to your Google review page in a follow-up email.
• Use QR codes: QR codes make it easy for people to leave a review on mobile.
• Respond to reviews: Reply to all reviews, positive or negative. 
• Pin reviews: Highlight your best reviews on your GBP to promote why users should choose you, ideally focusing on those that showcase your main services or strengths.
• Monitor reviews for recurring words or phrases: These are essentially keywords. By identifying them, you can use relevant keywords in your on-page content and metadata, which can improve click-through rates (CTR) by aligning your pages more closely with what users are actually looking for.

3. Google Posts and Q&A

Google Posts and the Q&A feature on your Google Business Profile (GBP) are tools to provide fresh, verified information that Google’s AI can use directly in AI Overview answers and Knowledge Panels. 

Using them strategically helps ensure your business is accurately represented and can influence what is shown in direct answers.

Here’s how to manage Google Posts: 

• Announcements and updates: Post about new services, events or promotions.
• Consistency: Plan to post on a weekly or monthly basis to maintain activity. Fresh content shows Google your business is active.
• Content guidelines: Keep posts factual, focused and concise. Include key service terms that you want Google to associate with your business.

Here’s how to use the Q&A feature: 

• Add your own questions: Don’t wait for users to ask. Add common questions with verified answers, or have your team ask the questions using their own profiles and answer as the business (this can look more authentic than asking and answering your own questions).
• Accuracy and detail: Provide clear and concise answers that include key terms. The AI can use this text in direct answers.
• Monitor and update: Check regularly for new questions. Respond quickly and update answers if services or processes change.

Regularly updated posts and Q&A content can feed Google’s AI with reliable, structured data. This helps increase the chances of your business being included in AI Overview cards, direct answers and other zero-click results, while also allowing you to control the narrative around your services and highlight the most important aspects of your business.

4. Use strong visuals

Using real, relevant images of your team, office and services makes it easier for AI to feature your business accurately in AI Overview cards, Knowledge Panels and other search features.

AI can use these visuals directly in answers, helping users understand your business at a glance and increasing the chances your profile is shown.

Ways to use visuals:

• Show your team and services: Upload photos of staff, work in action or client-facing activities. Real people and real environments make your business feel authentic.
• Virtual tours: Include 360-degree tours where possible. This adds transparency and builds trust with both users and Google’s AI.
• Images in posts: Pair Google Posts with relevant photos. This reinforces the credibility of the content and increases the likelihood of being featured in AI-driven results.
• Align with website images: Ensure GBP images match the style and messaging of your website. Consistency across platforms reinforces your brand and makes it easier for AI to connect your online presence.

Want to learn more? Read next:

• AI Mode: A marketing agency’s guide
• Is Google’s AI Overview hurting your search traffic?
• How to rank in Google’s AI Overview
• How to create content that works for search

SEO, AIO, LLMs – are all these acronyms getting overwhelming?

We can help make sense of it all. Speak to our team today to learn more about how we can help you keep pace with the future of AI search.