Google Business Messaging, the chat button that let customers message a business straight from Search and Maps, no longer exists. Google fully discontinued Business Messages on July 31, 2024. Customers can still reach you through other routes: a call or text number on your Google Business Profile, your website, and verified RCS chats in Google Messages. This guide explains what changed, what "Google Messages for business" means now, and what a Cincinnati-area business should do about it.
TL;DR
- Google Business Messages ended on July 31, 2024. The chat button on Search and Maps is gone, and so are the chat and call history in Business Profiles.
- "Google Messages for business" now means RCS: verified, branded chats with registered businesses inside the Google Messages app.
- RCS is a separate product that needs registration through Google or an approved provider. It is not a setting you switch on in your Business Profile.
- For most local service businesses, the practical fix is a complete Business Profile, a clear contact path on your website, and a steady flow of reviews.
Table of Contents
- What Google Business Messaging was
- What happened to it
- What "Google Messages for business" means now
- Does a small local business need RCS?
- What to do instead: a practical plan for local owners
- Where we see owners lose leads
- Our perspective
- How we help
- Checklist: your post-Business-Messages setup
- FAQ
- Sources
What Google Business Messaging was
Business Messages let a person tap a chat button on your listing in Google Search or Maps and send you a message. You answered from your Business Profile or through a connected messaging platform. It was asynchronous, meaning nobody had to wait on a live screen, which suited a plumber on a job site or a salon owner mid-appointment.
Google's own developer pages said 75% of consumers prefer to engage with a brand over private messaging channels rather than traditional channels. That preference did not go away when the product did. It just moved to other channels.
What happened to it
The timeline is short and worth knowing, because many articles and old tutorials still describe the feature as live.
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| July 15, 2024 | Entry points were disabled and new conversations could no longer be started. Google also advised businesses to remove or replace their own entry points, such as URLs and web widgets, by this date. |
| July 31, 2024 | Business Messages was fully discontinued. Chat and call history were removed from Google Business Profiles. |
| August 30, 2024 | The last day to download past chat or call history through Google Takeout. |
If you see a chat button on an old widget, a third-party tool, or a page on your own site that still promises "message us on Google," it is dead weight. Remove it. A button that leads nowhere costs you the very customers it was meant to catch.
Can you still message a business on Google?
Not through the old Search and Maps chat button. Customers who find you on Google today can call you, tap your website link, request directions, or use whatever contact options your profile shows. Which of those options appear depends on what you have set up and what Google offers in your account, so open your own profile and look at what a customer sees.
What "Google Messages for business" means now
The other phrase people type, "Google Messages for business," points to something different: the Google Messages app on Android and the RCS standard behind it.
RCS (Rich Communication Services) is the upgrade to ordinary texting. Per Google's support page on RCS chats with businesses, registered businesses can send interactive content such as product catalogs and action buttons, and the chat thread clearly shows the business name and its verification status.
How customers tell a message is real
A verified business shows a check mark next to its name, along with its branded name and logo. Google explains that the check mark means Google, a carrier or a third party confirmed the business's identity. For customers wary of texting scams, that is the main appeal.
Verified chats can include:
- Suggested replies the customer can tap
- Action buttons, such as call or get directions
- Photos, videos, audio and PDF files
- Product catalogs
What RCS is not
It is not the old Business Messages in a new coat. Customers do not start a chat from your Google listing. The business registers as a sender, and conversations happen in the messaging app on the customer's phone.
It is also not private in the way many people assume. Verified RCS chats are not end-to-end encrypted: messages are handled by the business, its messaging providers and carriers. Do not ask customers to send card numbers, Social Security numbers or medical details in a text thread.
Is Google Chat the same thing?
No. Google Chat is a team collaboration tool inside Google Workspace, used for talking with coworkers. It is not a way for a customer to message your business from search. Likewise, Google Messages is an app, while Facebook Messenger is Meta's separate service. People mix the three up constantly, which is why the search results for this topic are so scattered.
Does a small local business need RCS?
Usually not yet. RCS for business is built around brands that send large volumes of notifications, order updates and promotions, and it generally runs through a messaging provider that handles registration and carrier approval. Providers set their own pricing and onboarding terms, so get current quotes directly from them before you commit anything.
For a dentist, HVAC contractor, restaurant or law office with a handful of leads a day, the question is simpler: where will a customer who wants to ask something find you, and will you answer fast? That is a presence problem, not a messaging-platform problem.
RCS starts to make sense if you:
- Send appointment reminders or order updates to thousands of contacts
- Have staff who can monitor a branded inbox every business day
- Already collect text consent properly from your customers
If none of that describes you, spend the effort elsewhere first.
What to do instead: a practical plan for local owners
The customers who used to tap "Chat" still exist. Here is where to meet them now.
1. Make your Business Profile do the talking
Your profile is still the first thing many Cincinnati customers see. Check that your phone number is correct and answered, your hours are accurate, your website link works, and your categories and services are filled in. Photos, posts and Q&A-style details answer questions before anyone needs to message you. Our first moves for a Business Profile walk through the essentials in order.
If your listing has gone missing or been flagged, fix that before anything else. A suspended profile cannot receive any contact, and a duplicate listing splits calls and reviews between two entries.
2. Give your website a contact path that works on a phone
Most people who reach your site from Maps are on a phone, and they want one of three things: call, text or get a quote. Put a tap-to-call number and a short form at the top of every page, and make sure the page loads quickly. If your site is slow, cluttered or dated, it will lose people no messaging tool can recover. Our list of signs your website needs a redesign is a quick self-check.
3. Offer a text number, and answer it
A dedicated business number that can receive texts is the lowest-effort replacement for the old chat. Put it on your profile and site, and set a rule for yourself about response time. A text number you ignore is worse than none. Check the contact options in your own Business Profile editor to see which messaging choices Google currently offers for your account and region.
4. Treat reviews as your conversation with the public
With direct chat gone, reviews carry more of the trust. Prospects read what neighbors said and how you replied. Asking every happy customer at the right moment beats hoping for reviews. See how automated review requests work for local businesses and why a managed approach holds up better than a do-it-yourself one.
5. Be findable beyond Google
Many customers search in other places, including Apple Maps. A free listing there costs you nothing but time: here is how to add your business to Apple Maps.
And because search itself is changing, with AI answer engines now quoting local businesses, it helps to study how local SEO, answer-engine and generative-engine visibility fit together. Businesses that relied on Google's messaging feature are in the same position: the channel moved, so the visibility work has to carry more weight.
Where we see owners lose leads
These are the patterns we run into when a small business asks why the phone stopped ringing:
- Dead buttons. A chat widget or link left over from the old service.
- Unanswered texts. A number listed publicly but checked once a week.
- Out-of-date details. Wrong hours or an old phone number on the profile.
- No fresh reviews. The newest review is from two years ago, so the business looks inactive.
- A website that asks too much. Long forms, tiny buttons, slow pages.
None of these needs new technology. They need someone to own the basics.
Our perspective
When Google closed Business Messages, the loudest advice online was to buy a new messaging platform. For the local businesses we work with in Cincinnati, we think that is backwards. A chat tool is only as good as the page and profile that lead to it. If the profile is thin, the site is slow and the reviews are stale, a new inbox just collects silence.
We build every site by hand, without themes or page builders, so pages load fast and the contact path is the first thing a visitor sees on a phone. We keep content updates unlimited, so when your hours, services or phone number change, the site changes the same week, not at the next billing cycle. And because we are a local team and not a call center, the person who answers your question knows your business.
The lesson of Business Messages is that a channel owned by someone else can vanish with a few weeks' notice. Your website and your own phone number cannot be switched off by a product decision in Mountain View. Build there first, then add channels on top.
— Yoshua
How we help
If you want the foundation done for you, we offer it as a simple monthly package with no upfront development cost. The Website plan is $99 per month and covers a hand-coded, mobile-responsive site with hosting, SSL, domain, maintenance and unlimited content updates. Most of our packages run on a 12-month contract.
Two add-ons speak directly to the gap Business Messages left. Google Review Automation is $99 per month and sends review requests to your customers automatically. Local SEO at $299 per month includes Google Business Profile management, citation building and on-page optimization, so your listing and site work together. If your current site is the weak link, our website redesign service is $99 per month as well.
Checklist: your post-Business-Messages setup
- Remove any old "Chat on Google" buttons, links or widgets from your site and email signatures.
- Confirm your Business Profile phone number, hours and website link.
- Add a text-capable business number and decide who answers it and how fast.
- Put tap-to-call and a short contact form at the top of your mobile site.
- Ask recent customers for reviews, and reply to the ones you already have.
- Claim your Apple Maps listing.
- If you plan to send high-volume texts, talk to an RCS provider about registration and pricing, and collect proper consent first.
FAQ
Can you message a business on Google?
Not through the old chat button on Search and Maps. Business Messages was discontinued on July 31, 2024. Customers can still call, visit your website, or use any contact options shown on your Business Profile.
What is Google RCS business messaging?
It is a way for registered businesses to send rich, interactive texts in the Google Messages app. Verified businesses show a check mark, a logo and a branded name. Messages can carry buttons, photos, videos and catalogs.
Is Google Chat free for business?
Google Chat is a team messaging tool within Google's workspace products, and its availability and cost depend on the plan you choose. It is meant for talking with coworkers, not for receiving messages from customers who find you on Google. Check Google's current plan pages before you sign up.
Is Google Messages the same as Messenger?
No. Google Messages is the texting app from Google, which supports SMS and RCS. Messenger is a separate chat service from Meta. A customer using one cannot message you in the other without a separate setup on your side.
Can I still get my old Business Messages chat history?
Google gave businesses until August 30, 2024 to download chat and call history through Google Takeout. If you missed that window, contact Google Business Profile support to ask what remains available.
Sources
- Update on Google Business Messages, Google for Developers
- Changes to Google Business Profile chat and call history, Google Business Profile Help
- RCS chats with businesses, Google Messages Help
- Business Messages, Google for Developers