Google Maps Gemini AI Update 2025: “Ask About This Place” Feature Revolutionizes Local Discovery

What's New

With the new “Ask About This Place” feature, Google Maps users can now have a natural conversation about any specific business directly within the app.
For example, you can open a restaurant’s profile and ask questions like:

• “Is this restaurant good for a quiet dinner?”
• “What’s the must try dish here?”
• “Is parking available nearby?”

Gemini AI instantly analyzes verified information from the business’s profile including reviews, photos, attributes and responds with accurate, human-like summaries. These AI-generated insights appear right beneath the business’s star rating, helping users get relevant details without scrolling through hundreds of reviews.

What This Means

This update transforms every Google Business Profile into an AI-powered chat experience, where Gemini acts as a personal chatbot for the business built by Google to answer customer queries instantly.

Let’s take a quick peek behind the scenes:

When you use “Ask Maps About This Place,” Gemini pulls from:

• 250+ million business listings available on Google Maps
• Two decades of user-contributed reviews and photos
• The Grounding with Google Maps tool, ensuring every AI response is verified and sourced from real data

Why It Matters

For Users:

• Now instead of scrolling through hundreds of reviews to find out if a place suits your needs, just chat with the Map and Gemini brings the right insights to you in seconds.
• This update helps you with smart and context-aware results by understanding the intent and emotion behind your query, not just the keywords.
• Each response is based on verified Google Business Profile data and authentic user reviews, not fabricated content.

For Business Owners:

Better Engagement: The “Ask Maps About This Place” feature is more than just a convenience tool, it’s a direct engagement booster. By instantly responding to user questions, it encourages more interactions with your business listing.

Review-Driven Reputation: Since the AI’s answers are drawn primarily from existing reviews and business data, the quality of your customer feedback now plays a critical role. Positive, detailed reviews helps the AI to get the relevant answers to users. Encouraging customers to mention specific details in their reviews such as “excellent vegan options” or “spacious parking” enables the AI to respond even more precisely.

Understanding User Expectations: This feature gives business owners a direct window into customer intent. The questions people ask show what matters most to them, helping you spot missing details in your Google Business Profile and fine-tune your listing to turn more browsers into buyers.

Profile Accuracy Matters: Keeping your Google Business Profile (GBP) complete and updated is more important than ever. Adding missing services, attributes, and detailed descriptions helps Gemini access accurate data about your business.

Visual Credibility: Visual content plays a key role. Regularly uploading diverse, high-quality photos that showcase your products, ambience, or amenities helps the AI better represent your business experience. Likewise, keeping your website content fresh and informative allows Gemini to cross-reference reliable information from your verified online sources.

Evolution of Q&A: This update also marks a shift from the traditional Q&A section. Instead of browsing through scattered questions, users can now engage in real-time conversations with Google Business Profiles making the experience more interactive and dynamic than ever before.

The Takeaway: The Gemini-powered Ask Maps About This Place feature transforms every Google Business Profile into a personalized, interactive assistant.
Businesses that maintain rich, accurate, and review-driven profiles will stand out because now, your customers aren’t just reading about your business; They’re talking to it.