Google Business Profile

Messaging on your Google Business Profile after chat was retired

Google's built-in chat ended on July 31, 2024. In select regions you can now add a text message number or a WhatsApp link so customers message you outside Google.

5 steps

  1. Step 1: Confirm your profile is claimed and verified. Chat options are only offered to verified profiles.
    1 min
  2. Step 2: Go to business.google.com, select Edit profile, then Contact, and select Edit next to Chat.
    1 min
  3. Step 3: Open the Chat dropdown and choose Text message or WhatsApp.
    1 min
  4. Step 4: Enter a phone number that can receive texts, or your WhatsApp click-to-chat URL, in the field shown.
    2 min
  5. Step 5: Select Save, then send yourself a test message from a phone to be sure it reaches you.
    5 min
  6. Arrived: Customers see a chat option on your profile that opens their texting app or WhatsApp. Conversations happen there, not inside Google.

Checked 13 Nov 2026 · source: support.google.com

What changed, and when

For a few years, Google ran its own chat inside Business Profiles. Customers tapped a Chat button, and you answered from the Google Maps app or Business Profile Manager. That system is gone. Google switched it off on July 31, 2024, along with call history, the chat FAQ feature, and the option for customers to request quotes. Anyone with an open conversation got a heads-up on July 15, 2024.

If you’re reading an older guide that tells you to “turn on messaging” in the Customers tab, it describes a feature that no longer exists. Nothing you can switch on will bring the old in-Google inbox back.

What replaced it

Google’s answer is to send messages to tools you already use. In select countries and regions, a verified profile can show a Text message option or a WhatsApp option. The customer taps it and lands in their own texting app or in WhatsApp, talking to you directly. Google doesn’t host the conversation, so you reply from your phone or your WhatsApp Business account, not from Google.

A few details from Google’s help page are easy to miss:

  • Only one option shows. If you set both, customers see the text option and not WhatsApp.
  • The text number must be able to receive SMS. A landline that can’t take texts won’t work.
  • Several profiles can share one WhatsApp link.
  • Google doesn’t list which regions qualify. If the Chat field isn’t under Contact, it isn’t offered for your profile.

If messaging isn’t available to you

Google’s own advice for businesses affected by the shutdown was simple: keep talking to customers through channels you already have, and if your phone number is missing or hidden, add it so people can reach you. Calls from your profile still work as before. Google also points to Reserve with Google in some regions for bookings and payment.

Old conversations

Google allowed downloads of past chats and call records through Google Takeout until August 30, 2024. That window has closed, and the help page doesn’t offer another route. If you had important customer details in old chats and didn’t export them, the practical step is to ask those customers to reach you again by phone, text or email.

Keep an eye on replies

A messaging link is only useful if someone answers. Decide who owns the inbox, and check that the number or WhatsApp account is one that stays with the business if staff change. Google tracks message conversations in your Performance numbers, so you can see whether customers are using the option at all.

If it doesn't work

  • There's no Chat field under Contact: Google offers messaging options only in select countries and regions, and it doesn't list them. Make sure a phone number is visible instead.
  • You added both options but only one shows: Google shows only the text message option when both are set.
  • Old customer chats are missing: Google's download window for past chats through Google Takeout closed on August 30, 2024.
  • Customers say the link doesn't work: check the WhatsApp URL follows WhatsApp's click-to-chat format, or that the text number accepts SMS.

Questions owners ask

Why did the Chat button disappear from my profile?

Google turned off Business Profile chat on July 31, 2024. Owners can no longer chat with customers through the profile, the chat FAQ feature ended, and customers can't request quotes there. Customers who had open chats were told on July 15, 2024.

Can I get my old chat history back?

Google let owners download past chats and call history through Google Takeout until August 30, 2024. Its help page doesn't describe any way to recover them after that date.

Can several locations use the same WhatsApp link?

Yes. Google says different Business Profiles can use the same WhatsApp link. That suits a small chain with one central person answering messages, as long as they can tell which location the customer means.

Can I see how many people message me?

Google says chat performance shows in your Business Profile metrics. The Performance page lists Messages as the number of distinct message conversations.

Sources

Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.

Related fixes

Written by Ellis Marr (a pen name) · Checked 13 Nov 2026 · How we check