Google has announced that it will be shutting down the chat and call history features on Google Business Profiles in July, as it moves to streamline its business tools.
As per Google:
“We are reaching out to share that we will be winding down Google’s chat and call history features in Google Business Profile on July 31, 2024. We acknowledge this may be difficult news – as we continually improve our tools, we occasionally have to make difficult decisions which may impact the businesses and partners we work with. It’s important to us that Google remains a helpful partner as you manage your business and we remain committed to this mission.”
Here are the important dates you must be aware of:
- July 15, 2024: Google will stop allowing new chats to be initiated from Google Maps or Google Search. However, searchers that are already in existing chat conversations will be notified that chat will be phased out.
- July 31, 2024: Google will be shutting down their Google Business Profile chat and call feature. You will no longer be able to see your call history or receive new chat messages.
However, you can download your chat and call history from Google Business Profile if you wish to store it somewhere before Google deletes the history.
Google introduced the chat feature in Business Listings to strengthen its customer and business connections. Unfortunately, the feature did not gain its expected popularity, probably because of the 24-hour response time requirement. Hence, it might be more advantageous to Google to discontinue it and redirect its efforts towards something more impactful.
