Google Business Profile Chat Feature to Shut Down in July 2024

Google is making a significant change to its Business Messages feature on Google Search and Maps. For the past several years, customers have been able to reach out to businesses via text chat, but this capability will be shutting down in July.

Businesses that enabled this feature had a “Chat” button in their listings, allowing customers to have chat conversations with them. This feature supported images, read receipts, and encrypted messages stored on Google Cloud. However, Google announced that the chat feature will no longer be available on July 31, 2024.

Starting July 15, customers will not be able to start new chat conversations with businesses from Google. Existing chat conversations will be notified about the phaseout, and on July 31, the chat feature will be completely removed. Google advises businesses to add a phone number to their listings or use Reserve with Google as alternatives.

While this news may be difficult for businesses, Google is committed to improving its tools and remaining a helpful partner. It’s important to differentiate between “Business Messages” and “RCS Business Messaging,” with Google likely consolidating around the latter for a richer experience. This change reflects Google’s ongoing efforts to enhance communication and customer engagement.