Google Q&A
Also called: gbp questions and answers, google business profile q&a, gmb q&a
Google Q&A was a feature on a Google Business Profile that let anyone ask and answer public questions about a business, shown on Maps and in the local knowledge panel. Google retired the Q&A API in November 2025 and is replacing the feature with an AI-driven "Ask Maps" experience.
Q&A lived directly on a Business Profile. A searcher could type a question like “Do you have parking?” or “Are dogs allowed?” and the thread showed publicly on Maps and in the local knowledge panel. The catch: anyone could answer, not just the owner, so an out-of-date or wrong reply from a stranger could sit at the top of your listing. The common defensive play was to seed your own frequently asked questions, answer them yourself, and upvote the correct answers so they surfaced first.
Why it is mostly gone now
Google discontinued the My Business Q&A API on November 3, 2025, and began removing the public Q&A section from profiles soon after. On March 12, 2026 it launched Ask Maps, a Gemini-powered feature that generates answers on the fly instead of showing stored threads. When someone asks about a place now, the AI pulls from your profile fields, reviews, and website rather than a manual Q&A list. Ask Maps rolled out first in the US and India on mobile.
The practical shift: you no longer manage a Q&A box, you manage the source material the AI reads. Complete profile attributes, a clear website FAQ, and steady reviews are what now answer the questions Q&A used to hold.
How it affects your traffic
For a local business, the questions people used to ask in Q&A now get answered by Google's AI from your Business Profile, reviews, and website. If those sources are thin or wrong, Ask Maps either stays silent or leaves a gap a competitor can fill, and you lose the click. Local SEO work (filling every profile attribute, publishing a tight website FAQ, and keeping reviews fresh) is now how you control what shows up when someone asks about you.
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