As of November 3, 2025, Google has officially disabled the Q&A feature through the Google Business Profile API. This change affects how businesses manage the Question & Answer section of their Google listings and signals a broader shift in how Google intends to surface business information in Search and Maps. This is very disappointing, but there are ways to include this information, which is vital to growing your business.
What Is the Google Business Profile API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface. It’s essentially a tool that allows different software platforms to communicate and share data automatically.
Think of it like a digital assistant that used to help businesses update or manage information on their Google listing, including Q&As, without logging into Google manually.
By turning off the API for Q&As, Google has stopped all automation in that area. Any tools or systems that used to post, update, or sync your Q&As through this automated channel can no longer do so.
What’s No Longer Available
The most immediate impact:
Businesses can no longer automate Q&A updates on their Google Business Profile. If you previously had a system or workflow that kept your most common customer questions and answers up-to-date on your listing, that functionality is now gone.
Your existing questions may still be visible temporarily, but Google is phasing out the Q&A section altogether, with different regions losing visibility at different times.
What’s Changing Behind the Scenes
Google is shifting toward an AI-powered search experience. Instead of relying on a dedicated Q&A module, Google will now generate answers based on:
- Content from your website
- Fields within your Google Business Profile (like services, descriptions, and attributes)
- Customer reviews
This means you have less direct control, and your website and profile content become more critical than ever.
What You Should Do Now
To stay competitive in local search, Reach Marketing Group recommends the following:
1. Turn Your Q&As Into On-Site FAQs
Move your most frequently asked questions to your website in a clearly labeled FAQ section. This becomes a primary source for Google’s AI to pull answers from.
2. Add FAQ Schema
Implement structured data (FAQ schema) on your FAQ page so Google can understand and index the content for AI-generated answers and featured snippets.
3. Fully Optimise Your Google Business Profile
Ensure every detail is complete and up to date:
- Business description
- Service categories
- Attributes (e.g., accessibility, payment types)
- Business hours, photos, and contact info
The more thorough your profile, the more accurate Google’s AI responses will be.
How Reach Marketing Group Can Help
Reach Marketing Group provides end-to-end local SEO management to help you stay ahead of changes like this. Here’s how we support you:
- We migrate your best Q&As to your website as an optimised, AI-friendly FAQ section, complete with schema markup.
- We integrate this content into your social media and SEO campaigns, ensuring consistent messaging and improved search visibility.
- We manage your Google Business Profile as part of our SEO package, keeping your profile fully optimised and aligned with Google’s evolving algorithm.
This change is more than just a technical update. It’s an opportunity to enhance your brand’s visibility across channels and future-proof your local presence.
Let’s make sure your business stays competitive in AI-driven search.
Talk to your Reach Marketing Group strategist or contact us here to strengthen your content strategy and adapt your local SEO.