A homeowner in Reston asks Google, “Who can fix a furnace that’s short cycling, today?” A parent in Dallas asks Google Maps which nearby dentists see kids on Saturdays. Someone in Fairfax asks an AI assistant for an estate planning lawyer who offers virtual consultations. In each case, the answer is likely to be a short AI summary that names only a few businesses.
Much of what those answers say about local businesses comes from one place you already control: your Google Business Profile. If your categories are vague or your services list is thin, AI tools have less to work with, and they’ll recommend a competitor who gave them better information.
This guide walks through the Google Business Profile fields that matter most for AI Overviews and Google Maps answers, in the order we’d update them, with examples for home service companies, dental practices, and law firms.
Why Your Google Business Profile Matters More in AI Search
Google has been blending AI into local search on two fronts:
- AI Overviews and AI Mode in Google Search. For many local questions, Google now shows an AI-written summary, often alongside a short list of businesses and a map. Google’s own guidance for site owners says there are no special requirements to appear in these AI features, and it recommends making sure your Business Profile information is up to date as part of standard best practices.
- Gemini in Google Maps. In March 2026, Google rolled out Ask Maps, a conversational feature in the Maps app (initially in the US and India) that answers questions about places using Google’s data on hundreds of millions of businesses and reviews from the Maps community.
At the same time, Google has been retiring the old Questions and Answers feature on Business Profiles. Google discontinued the Q&A API on November 3, 2025, and the public Q&A section has been disappearing from profiles since. Instead of reading a list of answers someone posted years ago, customers in the US can now ask Maps directly, and Gemini builds an answer from information such as your profile details and reviews.
The takeaway: your profile is no longer just a listing. It’s source material for AI answers.
How AI Uses Your Profile (in Plain English)
Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance, and popularity, and that “businesses with complete and accurate info are more likely to show up in local search results.” AI answers follow the same logic, with one difference: they need specifics to match against longer, more detailed questions.
A traditional search might be “plumber Arlington.” An AI question is more like “Is there a plumber in Arlington who does tankless water heater installs and offers financing?” You can only match that question if tankless installs and financing appear somewhere the AI can read: your services, description, attributes, reviews, or website.
What to Update First: A Field-by-Field Priority List
Work through these fields in order. They’re ranked by how much they shape what AI tools understand about your business.
1. Primary and additional categories
Your primary category is the single strongest signal of what you are. Google lets you choose one primary category and up to 9 more.
- Home services: An HVAC company should pick the category that matches its main revenue (for example, “HVAC contractor”), then add accurate secondary categories such as “Air conditioning contractor” or “Furnace repair service” if they truly apply.
- Dental: A general practice that also offers orthodontics and implants can use “Dentist” as the primary category and add specialty categories only where the practice actually provides that care and has qualified providers.
- Law firms: Choose the category that matches your main practice area (for example, “Personal injury attorney” or “Estate planning attorney”) rather than a generic “Lawyer” if a more specific category fits.
Don’t add categories for services you rarely provide; mismatches confuse AI answers.
2. Services
The services list is where you answer the detailed questions customers ask AI tools. Add every core service, using the words customers use, and write a short description for each where the editor allows it.
- Roofing: “Roof replacement,” “storm damage repair,” “insurance claim assistance,” “gutter installation.”
- Dental: “Same-day crowns,” “Invisalign,” “emergency dental care,” “sedation dentistry,” “pediatric dentistry.”
- Law: “DUI defense,” “uncontested divorce,” “wills and trusts,” “workers’ compensation claims.”
Check this section every few months. Google sometimes suggests edits or fills in details on its own, and you’ll want to remove anything that isn’t accurate.
3. Business description
You get 750 characters. Use them to state, in plain language:
- What you do and your main specialties
- Who you serve (homeowners, families, injured workers, small businesses)
- Where you serve (for example, “Fairfax, Arlington, McLean, and Reston” or “Dallas, Plano, and Richardson”)
- What makes you different (licensing, years in business, languages spoken, financing, evening hours)
Skip keyword stuffing and promotions. Write it like you’d explain your business to a neighbor. If you use Google’s AI-assisted description tool, edit the result so every claim is accurate.
4. Attributes
Attributes are small facts that AI answers love because they map directly to common questions: “online appointments,” “wheelchair accessible entrance,” “languages spoken,” “onsite services,” “women-owned” or “veteran-led,” and more. The options available depend on your category, so check them all.
- A plumbing company might confirm onsite services and online estimates.
- A dental practice might note wheelchair accessibility and online appointments.
- A law firm might note online appointments or virtual consultations, if offered.
5. Hours, special hours, and service areas
AI answers often lean on hours for “open now” or “on Saturday” questions. Confirm regular hours, add holiday hours ahead of time, and list emergency availability only if you actually answer the phone.
Service-area businesses (most HVAC, plumbing, and roofing companies) should list the cities and areas they really serve. For a Northern Virginia contractor, that might be Fairfax County, Arlington, Loudoun County, and nearby DC suburbs. For Dallas, it might be Dallas, Garland, Mesquite, and Richardson.
6. Photos and videos
Real photos help customers trust your business and give Google more information about what you do.
- Home services: Branded trucks, technicians on the job, before-and-after project photos.
- Dental: Your actual office, treatment rooms, and team (with consent; never show patient information on screens or charts).
- Law: Your office, conference room, and attorney headshots that match your website.
7. Reviews and review responses
Reviews are one of the richest sources of detail AI tools have about your business. A review that says “they replaced our water heater the same day” teaches an AI tool more than a rating with no text.
- Ask every customer for an honest review, and keep the request open-ended. Google’s review policy prohibits asking only happy customers, offering incentives, or having staff solicit reviews that include specific content, such as an employee’s name.
- Respond to every review promptly and professionally.
- Dental practices: Don’t confirm that a reviewer is a patient or mention any treatment details in your replies. HIPAA considerations apply to review responses, so keep replies general and talk with your compliance advisor about your policy.
- Law firms: Never reveal client information or discuss a matter in a review response. Check your state bar’s rules on testimonials and responding to reviews before setting a policy.
8. Your former Q&A content (move it to your website)
If you used to answer common questions in the Q&A section, don’t let that work disappear. Move those questions and answers into FAQ sections on your website’s service pages. Google’s AI tools can read your website, and so can ChatGPT and other assistants. Good candidates:
- “Do you offer financing for a new HVAC system?”
- “Do you accept [insurance plan]?”
- “Do you offer free consultations for car accident cases?”
Quick Checklist: Your 60-Minute Profile Refresh
Use this list to work through your profile in one sitting:
- Search your business on Google and Maps and note what appears today.
- Confirm your primary category matches your main service; trim any categories that don’t apply.
- Add or update every core service, using the words customers use.
- Rewrite your description to cover what, who, where, and why you.
- Review every available attribute and turn on the ones that are true.
- Confirm regular hours, add upcoming holiday hours, and update service areas.
- Upload recent, real photos (and keep adding them monthly).
- Reply to any reviews you haven’t answered yet.
- Copy any old Q&A content into FAQ sections on your website.
- Make sure your name, address, phone, and hours match on your website, Bing Places, and major directories.
- Ask an AI tool a real customer question about your service and city, and write down what it says.
Industry Snapshots: What to Prioritize
HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and landscaping companies. Focus on services, service areas, and emergency hours. Homeowners ask very specific questions (“Who does heat pump installs in McLean?”), and your services list is often where the match happens. We cover more in How Homeowners Use ChatGPT and AI Overviews to Find Contractors.
Dental practices. Focus on services (especially specialties like Invisalign, implants, and sedation), insurance information on your website, attributes like online appointments, and HIPAA-conscious review replies. See AI Search for Dentists for the website side of the equation.
Law firms. Focus on a precise primary category, practice-area services, and consistent attorney information across your profile, website, and legal directories. Keep everything aligned with your state bar’s advertising rules.
The Local Angle: Northern Virginia and Dallas
In a dense market like Northern Virginia, dozens of businesses can sit within a few miles of a searcher in Fairfax or Arlington, so distance alone won’t separate you; detail does. In a sprawling metro like Dallas, service areas matter more: a roofer based in Garland who also serves Plano and Richardson should say so on the profile and on the website’s location pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Google use my Business Profile in AI Overviews?
Google doesn’t publish exactly how AI Overviews are assembled, but its guidance for AI features recommends keeping your Business Profile information up to date, and local AI answers commonly show business listings drawn from Google Maps. A complete, accurate profile gives you the best chance of being included and described correctly.
What happened to the Q&A section on my profile?
Google has been phasing out Business Profile Q&A. In the US, customers can now ask questions in Google Maps through Gemini-powered features like Ask Maps, which draw on business information and reviews. Move your old Q&A content into FAQs on your website.
Does ChatGPT use my Google Business Profile?
Not directly, as far as OpenAI has said publicly. OpenAI says ChatGPT search may use your approximate location to provide local results, and in July 2026 Yelp agreed to license its reviews, ratings, and photos to OpenAI for ChatGPT’s local answers. That’s one reason to keep your Bing Places and Yelp listings, website, and other directory listings consistent with your Google profile.
How often should I update my profile?
Review it at least quarterly, add photos monthly, and respond to reviews as they come in. Update it right away when hours, services, or locations change.
Can I pay to be recommended in AI answers?
No. Ads may appear near AI answers, but the recommendations themselves are based on the information these tools can find about your business. Improving that information is the most reliable path.
Note for law firms: This article is general marketing information, not legal advice. Check your state bar’s rules on advertising, testimonials, and review responses.
Get Help Updating Your Profile
Nova Advertising helps home service companies, dental practices, and law firms in Northern Virginia and Dallas get found in Google Maps, traditional search, and AI answers. Learn more about our local SEO services and AI search optimization, or contact Nova Advertising for a free consultation. We’ll review your Google Business Profile and show you what to update first.
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