Google recently announced Gemini can now connect directly to your Business Profile, linking it to both your Search visibility and AI recommendations.
The new features let you draft review replies and read your performance data conversationally. You’ll also get proactive alerts about what’s hurting your profile.
BAM covered the listing ad rollout last week, and this is the next chapter: your Business Profile now feeds Google Search, Maps, and the AI deciding whether to recommend you to buyers.
Here are three plays to run this week to make the most of the new features.
#1: Answer Every Review in Your Voice
Unanswered reviews sitting on your Business Profile are costing you. Review volume and response rate are direct trust signals for both Google ranking and AI recommendation engines.
Here’s the play: open Gemini and type “Help me respond to my latest review.” It pulls the actual feedback your client left and drafts a tailored reply in your voice.
Two things to know before you use it:
- This feature is best for agents with a backlog of unanswered reviews who need to catch up fast.
- AI-drafted replies need a human pass (and typically editing to humanize them) before you post them; never auto-publish for fair housing and compliance reasons
Folks are more likely to tune you out if your replies sound generic enough to be automated. Whether or not you agree with the backlash against AI usage, it is 100% having an impact on consumer perception of your brand.
Get through your backlog this week. Responding consistently is how you build the review volume and response rate that moves your profile up in both Search and AI recommendations.
As much as possible, though, put yourself in your reviewers’ feet and invest time in writing a response they’d want to receive.
#2: Read Your Numbers Like a Conversation
Your Google Business Profile has performance data most agents never look at.
Type “How did my business do this month?” into Gemini and it pulls everything in plain English. Here’s what it surfaces:
- Search impressions
- Direction requests
- Call data
- Customer engagement
If you’ve been ignoring your GBP insights, this is the easiest way to start using them. Knowing your numbers is step one to fixing them.
#3: Let Business Notebooks Catch What You’re Missing
Every time you open a new AI chat, you start from scratch. Business Notebooks are Google’s answer to that.
The idea is that once you connect your Business Profile, Gemini builds a persistent workspace grounded in your brand, website, and profile data, so you’re not re-explaining your business every time you open the app. Whether it lives up to that idea remains to be seen.
Google says it proactively surfaces:
- Unanswered client questions on your profile
- Stale or missing profile info
- Local market and pricing opportunities based on your area
- Campaign ideas built from your actual reviews
The persistent memory piece is Google’s claim, and it’s worth testing for yourself.
What’s less theoretical is the proactive alerts. If it flags an unanswered question or a gap in your profile the moment you open it, that alone is useful.
The One Profile That Feeds Everything
Your Google Business Profile now does more than help buyers find you.
There is a catch, though: this update only works if you have a verified Google Business Profile, and right now it’s limited to single-profile owners. If you manage profiles for multiple locations or team members, you’re not in the rollout yet.
As BAM covered when Google rolled out listing ads nationwide, Google is consolidating more of the homebuying journey into its own ecosystem. Your profile sits underneath all of it.
Little known fact: only about 1% of local businesses get recommended by AI.
If you haven’t already read 10 Reasons AI Isn’t Recommending You, these three plays are a good place to start fixing what’s keeping you off that list.
Connect your profile, run the plays this week, and see where you stand.
