Yes, Google has officially retired the public Q&A feature on Google Business Profiles (GBPs), discontinuing the Q&A API in November 2025 to transition to more dynamic, AI-powered answers (like Ask Maps and AI Overviews) driven by Gemini, making accurate business info, reviews, and website FAQs crucial for local visibility now.
What’s Happening with Google Q&A Feature:
- Q&A API Deprecation: The API that powered the Q&A feature was officially shut down around November 3, 2025.
- Feature Disappearing: The Q&A section is gradually being removed from business listings, with AI taking over the role of answering questions.
- Shift to AI: Google’s AI, powered by Gemini, will now source answers from your business profile’s core information (categories, services, photos, descriptions, reviews) and your website content.
Why It Matters for Businesses:
- Control the Narrative: You lose a direct public Q&A channel but gain more reliance on your GBP’s core data and reviews to influence AI answers.
- Data is Key: Complete, accurate GBP information and strong reviews become even more vital for AI to understand and represent your business correctly.
What Businesses Should Do:
- Optimize GBP: Fill out every section (categories, products, services, attributes) completely.
- Leverage FAQs: Move Q&As to your website’s FAQ page and use FAQ schema for better AI indexing.
- Monitor Reviews: Engage with reviews as they are now a primary source for AI.
- Write for AI: Create web content and FAQs in natural, question-based language.
- Stay Updated: Keep your profile fresh with new photos, offers, and posts.
