Google's AI Can Now Run Your Business Profile. Should You Let It?

Google has announced a new feature that could change how small businesses manage their presence on Google Search and Maps. From June 2026, business owners can connect their Google Business Profile directly to Gemini, Google's AI assistant, and manage it simply by having a conversation.

Before you rush off to try it, there's an important catch for those of us here in the UK. But first, let's look at what's actually been announced, because it tells us a lot about where Google is heading.

If you run a small business, you'll know the feeling. You're the boss, the marketing department, and the customer service team all rolled into one, usually before you've finished your first cup of tea. Google's pitch is that Gemini can now take some of that off your plate.

Once you've connected your Business Profile to Gemini, you can simply ask it things like "How did my business do this month?" and it will look at your search appearances, calls, direction requests, and customer engagement, then explain it all in plain English. No more digging through dashboards trying to work out what the numbers mean.

It goes further than reporting, too. You can ask Gemini to draft a reply to a customer review in your brand's voice, update your opening hours for a bank holiday, change your contact details, or create and schedule posts about offers and events. Tasks that used to mean clicking through menus can now be done by typing a sentence.

Google is also introducing something called Business Notebooks, a dedicated workspace that remembers your business between sessions. Open it up and it will flag things that need your attention, such as an unanswered customer question, holiday hours you haven't set, or gaps in your profile. It can even suggest ideas for promotions based on what's happening in your local market.

The catch for UK businesses

The feature is rolling out globally this month, but Google has explicitly excluded the UK and the European Economic Area. There's no confirmed date for when (or indeed if) it will arrive here. Google hasn't given a reason, but it follows a familiar pattern. New AI features that need deep access to your data tend to launch everywhere else first while Google works through the regulatory landscape in Europe, and the UK usually ends up in the same waiting room.

Even where it is available, there are some restrictions worth knowing about. It currently only works in the Gemini web app on a computer, not on your phone. You need a personal Google account rather than a work one. And, curiously, it's only available to people who manage a single verified Business Profile, which rules out agencies and multi-location businesses for now.

Why should you care?

This announcement tells you exactly where Google is placing its bets, and it confirms something I've been saying to clients for a long time: your Google Business Profile is one of the most valuable free marketing assets your business has!

Think about it. Google is building its flagship AI assistant around your Business Profile data. Your reviews, your photos, your opening hours, your posts. That same information already feeds Google's AI-generated search results, which more and more of your customers are seeing every day. A complete, accurate, well-maintained profile has never mattered more, and that's true whether or not Gemini ever launches here.

The good news? Everything that will make this AI feature work well when it arrives is something you can (and should) be doing right now. Accurate opening hours. The right business category. Good quality photos. Regular posts. Prompt, genuine replies to reviews. None of it requires AI, and all of it helps customers find and choose you today.

A few words of caution

Before everyone gets carried away, there are some things worth being careful about when this does land…

First, AI-written review replies. An AI-drafted response still represents your business once it's published. Customers are getting remarkably good at spotting generic, machine-written replies, and research suggests templated responses actively put people off. By all means let AI do the heavy lifting, but always give it a human read before it goes out. A reply that sounds like you, mentions the specifics, and feels genuine will always beat a polished but soulless one. And if you receive a serious or emotional complaint, write that reply yourself. A one-star review is the riskiest possible place for a tone-deaf AI response.

Second, remember that Gemini will be making changes to your real, live profile. If it misunderstands a request, say, applying your new Sunday hours to every day of the week, that mistake is instantly visible to every customer who looks you up. Always check what it actually did, not just what you asked it to do. The same goes for those handy AI performance summaries. They're a great starting point, but AI can occasionally get a figure wrong or miss important context, so it pays to glance at the real numbers now and then rather than letting the summary become a substitute for understanding your own business.

Third, there's a privacy trade-off. The feature only works if you have Google's "Keep Activity" setting switched on, which means allowing Google to retain your Gemini conversations. For most people that's a fair exchange for the convenience, but it's worth knowing what you're agreeing to before you connect anything.

Finally, and this is the one I'd really like you to remember: scammers love a Google announcement. Every time Google launches something new, small businesses get a wave of cold calls and emails from people claiming to be "from Google", offering to set up the shiny new tools for a fee. Google does not cold-call small businesses. If someone rings you out of the blue about your Google listing or "the new Google AI", hang up. If you're ever unsure whether something is genuine, ask someone you trust before handing over money or access to your accounts.

What to do next

My advice is simple. Don't wait for the AI, get the foundations right now. If your Google Business Profile is incomplete, out of date, or sitting unverified, that's costing you customers this week, not at some point in the future when Gemini arrives in the UK.

I'll be keeping a close eye on the rollout and will share an update the moment it becomes available here. In the meantime, if you'd like a hand getting your Google Business Profile into shape so you're ready for whatever Google does next, get in touch. It's one of the quickest, most affordable ways to get your business in front of local customers, and it's exactly what I'm here for.