Google Business Profile AI messaging expands to more businesses

Google Business Profile’s AI-powered messaging, covered in June, now has two outside signs of broader access: Claudia Tomina’s LinkedIn demonstration and Mike Blumenthal’s early-access email shared on X.

Neither signal establishes universal availability. The source’s author still could not find the feature in a profile, and the available report gives no rollout date, percentage, country list or business-size threshold. It also says Google has updated the feature since June without itemizing those changes.

Google’s product copy says the feature lets businesses “connect with customers from Search and Maps and let them message your business on their phone’s native messaging app.” It describes an AI (artificial intelligence) agent that “will answer routine questions from customers, instantly and at no cost.”

If the agent cannot answer, Google says it hands off the question. The business can take over the conversation at any time, and all messages are available in the Business Profile. That combines an automated first response with a direct route to staff when a question falls outside the agent’s knowledge.

What does the agent handle in a restaurant?

Google’s example centers on restaurants. The agent can handle questions about daily specials or a Saturday booking, pull up menu items with photos and prices, and offer available reservation times. The demonstration links a direct question with menu data and an available reservation time.

When it cannot resolve a request, the agent transfers the customer to the business, and staff can jump in whenever they want. Google’s example therefore covers both information and reservation questions before the handoff.

What does the rollout evidence actually show?

Tomina posted a LinkedIn GIF showing the messaging flow and instructed readers to look for a red dot on Messages in a profile. She also showed a welcome screen for turning the feature on. The red dot and activation screen give businesses visible interface markers, but her post does not quantify how many profiles have access.

Blumenthal shared on X an email he received offering “get early access to the AI-powered messaging pilot on your Business Profile on Search and Maps at no cost.” The email says businesses can let an agent handle common questions and reservations, redirect complex questions to staff and devote more team time to running the restaurant.

Taken together, the email, Tomina’s demonstration and the source author’s inability to see the feature in a profile make a selective expansion plausible rather than universal availability. The source does not cite a dated Google announcement, so the broader rollout remains an observation based on outside reports.

What does RCS mean for customers?

The AI agent works only for customers whose networks and phones support RCS, the phone-messaging format used for the native-app experience. For everyone else, texts go straight to the business phone, and standard text rates may apply. The source explicitly points readers to the fine print on that qualification.

Who stands to benefit first?

Restaurants are the clearest vertical in the source because Blumenthal’s email refers to running a restaurant, while Google’s demonstration features menus and reservations. More generally, the described channel is the Business Profile on Search and Maps and the customer’s native phone app. The source describes no separate website chat widget.

The report gives no rollout percentage, country list, business-size threshold or date for the wider rollout. It names no other vertical. As a result, the strongest available conclusion is that access is expanding selectively through a pilot, not that every Business Profile has the feature.

What should businesses verify before enabling it?

• Update the menu, including items, photos and prices, because the agent’s restaurant answers draw on that information.
• Confirm opening hours and listed services are current; the source says the agent can answer only as well as the profile.
• Set a process for monitoring questions the agent routes to staff, since businesses can take over at any point.
• Account for RCS support: some customers will reach the business by standard text instead and may incur standard rates.

The next things to watch are whether Google’s early-access email and the Messages welcome screen continue appearing in additional profiles. Restaurant teams will also need to track RCS coverage and handoff quality, both of which will show whether the agent reduces routine work or sends more work to staff.