GBP Q&A: Using Questions and Answers Strategically

Why GBP Q&A requires a different strategy today

Anyone who googles "Google Business Profile questions" is looking for a feature that no longer exists in its familiar form. For years, the question-and-answer section (Q&A) in the Google Business Profile was a standard element of local search: any user could publicly ask a question on the profile, and anyone could answer it. For SMEs in the DACH region, this was both an opportunity and a risk, because competitors and Local Guides could also post false answers.

The strategic relevance is high because most local search in Austria runs through Google. According to StatCounter, Google's search engine market share in Austria in May 2026 was 81.87 percent across all devices. Statista puts the figure for the full year 2024 even higher, at around 89.6 percent, while Bing reached only about six percent. If you want to be found locally in Austria, there is no way around the Google Business Profile. That is exactly why it pays to adapt your question-and-answer strategy to the new reality instead of mourning a feature that has been scaled back.

Status 2025/2026: What has become of the Q&A feature

Google has gradually scaled back the classic Q&A function. The associated programming interface for reading and maintaining questions programmatically was discontinued on November 3, 2025. Businesses and agencies can therefore no longer monitor Q&A content automatically or manage it through third-party systems. On December 3, 2025, Google announced that it would replace the public Q&A box in Maps with an AI-powered question feature: customers ask their question directly and receive an automatically generated answer based on the business's information and relevant reviews. The public question-and-answer module that users knew from Maps and Google Search has since largely disappeared.

AI-powered answers are taking the place of the manual question-and-answer list. Google increasingly answers user questions directly from existing profile data, from reviews and from the linked website, supplemented by AI features such as "Ask Maps" and Gemini-based answers in Search. In March 2026, according to BrightLocal, Ask Maps was only available in the US and India. Since August 2026, Google has been rolling out the feature in English in more than 150 countries and territories, according to its own blog; the post does not say whether Austria is included. Instead of a publicly visible Q&A box, the system generates an answer from multiple sources. In practice, this is a clear shift: you no longer fill in a single field. You manage the data sources Google draws its answers from.

From Q&A to AI answers: The new control levers

The central question is no longer "How do I answer the Q&A box?" but "Which sources does Google use, and how do I fill them correctly?" Three sources are decisive.

• The profile itself: Opening hours, categories, attributes, service descriptions and the business description. These fields are the structured fact base that AI answers draw on first.
• Reviews: Reviews and their content provide context on services, atmosphere and typical concerns. What customers mention repeatedly shapes the AI's picture of the business.
• The linked website: Structured, clearly written content on your own site is an authoritative first-party source. Unlike reviews, this source is entirely under your control.

So the logic of question-and-answer optimization still holds; only the location shifts. Instead of centralizing answers in a single box, you distribute the same information across several sources that Google reads.

Building FAQ content strategically: Which questions go where

Which questions are worth answering at all? An industry analysis from the US offers solid guidance, even though the data is not specific to Austria. According to GatherUp, which examined more than 1,700 locations, 25 percent of locations had received at least one question, with large differences between industries, from around one percent for trade services to over 35 percent for car dealerships and about 90 percent for large chain brands. Most of the questions were genuine: in a deeper analysis, 77 percent of the questions were legitimate and concerned products, services, prices and basic facts. In the dentist segment studied, 38 percent were about accepted insurance and 32 percent asked whether a specific treatment is offered and what it costs.

The lesson for the DACH region: customers ask about specifics. Cover the 10 to 15 most common concerns systematically.

• Opening hours and availability: Regular hours, holiday arrangements and special opening hours belong in the profile field, not just in running text.
• Prices and services: Price ranges, packages and the exact range of services belong in the profile's services, in Google Posts and in a website FAQ.
• Payment: You can record accepted payment methods unambiguously via profile attributes.
• Parking and directions: Parking options via attributes, exact directions via the website and the profile description.
• Specific services: Does the business offer a particular treatment, brand or specialization? This information belongs explicitly on the website and in the service list.

Distributing answers instead of centralizing them: The new Q&A channels

Since the Q&A field has largely disappeared, several channels have taken over its function. A good strategy uses them in parallel and keeps them consistent.

• Website FAQ: A visible FAQ page with clearly worded questions and short, precise answers serves people and AI systems at the same time.
• FAQ schema (FAQPage): Structured data markup based on Schema.org makes the question-answer pairs of your website FAQ machine-readable. Don't expect it to raise your visibility in Google Search: Google has not shown FAQ rich results since May 7, 2026, and according to Google, AI Overviews require no special markup. The schema is an optional addition; the visible answers on the page are what counts.
• Google Posts: Posts in the profile work well for current or seasonal questions, such as changed opening hours or new services.
• Attributes: Structured profile attributes for accessibility, payment, parking or offerings answer many questions without a user ever having to ask them.

The common denominator of all channels is consistency. If the profile, website and posts contradict each other, you create exactly the room for interpretation that AI systems fill with false assumptions.

Reputation protection: From Q&A abuse to data consistency

The old Q&A feature had a well-known weakness: anyone could post questions and answers, including competitors or Local Guides. False or misleading answers could only be contained through active monitoring and reporting. The proven protection was to ask the most important questions yourself and answer them correctly right away, so that your own answer appeared at the top as the most frequently confirmed one.

In the AI era, the risk shifts. The problem is no longer a single false answer in a public box. It is contradictory or incomplete data across all sources. If the business name, address or phone number (NAP data) differ from platform to platform, the AI cannot identify the business unambiguously and, when in doubt, combines incorrect fragments. That is why the most effective reputation protection today is complete, consistent profile data across all channels. Where the same facts appear everywhere, there is nothing to distort.

Best practices for FAQ and AI answer optimization

The following measures have proven themselves in practice and you can implement them right away.

• Fill out your profile completely: Completeness pays off measurably. According to a Google statement cited by BrightLocal, customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business with a complete profile reputable and 70 percent more likely to visit it.
• Derive the FAQ from real customer questions: Collect real inquiries from emails, phone calls and sales. These questions match search intent more accurately than invented ones.
• Work in keywords naturally: Phrase questions the way customers ask them, and include relevant terms without keyword stuffing.
• Keep answers short and factual: Direct, unambiguous answers are easier for AI systems to cite than long marketing copy.
• Use FAQPage schema as an addition: Machine-readable question-answer pairs do no harm, but they don't guarantee citation in AI answers or AI Overviews.
• Actively manage reviews: Ask satisfied customers for reviews and respond to them. This matters because, according to BrightLocal, 97 percent of consumers read reviews of local businesses and 71 percent use Google to do so.

Optimization for AI Overviews and answer engines

For Gemini and other answer systems to make correct statements about your business, you need to structure your content so that it can be interpreted unambiguously. The principle is the same as in classic SEO, only more consistently focused on factual clarity.

• One question, one clear answer: Structure content as a direct answer to a specific question. Headings as questions, the first sentence as the core answer.
• Increase fact density: Specific, verifiable information on location, services, price range and specialization anchors the entity clearly.
• Consistency across all sources: Website, profile, posts and directories must tell the same story so that the AI recognizes one unambiguous entity.
• Strengthen local signals: Name your location and catchment area explicitly, especially for Austrian businesses with a local focus.

Common mistakes

• Mourning the old Q&A field: If you keep looking only at the public Q&A box, you miss the real control levers: profile, website and reviews.
• Inconsistent NAP data: Differing spellings of name, address or phone number across platforms are one of the most common causes of incorrect AI answers.
• FAQ only on the website, not in the profile: If you store answers in one central place only, you ignore the fact that Google draws from multiple sources.
• Relying on FAQPage schema alone: Markup without visible, unambiguous answers on the page achieves little.
• Treating the profile as a one-time task: Opening hours, services and prices go out of date. Without regular maintenance, misinformation comes back.
• Ignoring reviews: Reviews are a central AI source. If you don't manage them, you leave the picture to chance.

Response time, monitoring and measurement

Even without a public Q&A box, you need a fixed maintenance and review process. Turn on notifications in the profile, check it on a fixed schedule and respond promptly to new reviews and to changes that Google or third parties make to your profile information.

Profile insights make success measurable. Track the following metrics over time:

• Profile views and searches: Show visibility and the terms people use to find the profile.
• Clicks, calls and direction requests: Direct conversion signals. If they rise after you improve your FAQ and profile content, the measures are working.
• Review volume and recency: An indicator of trust and of the quality of the AI source base.
• AI accuracy in spot checks: Ask Google AI Overviews and Gemini about your business regularly and check whether the answers are correct.

Complete, consistent content pays off directly in conversion: according to the Google statement cited by BrightLocal, customers are 50 percent more likely to consider a purchase when a business has a complete profile.

Practical migration checklist

Now that the old Q&A section has largely disappeared, you should work through the following steps.

• Profile audit: Check opening hours, address, phone number, categories, attributes and description for completeness and whether they are up to date.
• NAP check: Make sure name, address and phone number are spelled identically across your website, Google, Bing and Austrian directories.
• Collect top questions: Compile the 10 to 15 most common real customer questions from sales.
• Distribute the FAQ: Transfer the answers into profile attributes, profile services, Google Posts and a website FAQ.
• Optionally add FAQPage schema: Mark up the question-answer pairs of the visible website FAQ so they are machine-readable.
• Set up monitoring: Turn on notifications and set a fixed review schedule.
• Establish an AI check: Regularly test what Google AI Overviews and Gemini say about the business, and correct the sources when you find errors.

Further reading

The GBP Q&A feature in its original form is history, but the task behind it remains: answering typical customer questions proactively, correctly and consistently. If you move your answers away from the old Q&A box and distribute them across your profile, reviews and website FAQ, you control exactly the sources Google and Gemini generate their answers from. Sensible next steps are a complete local SEO setup, a content structure on your website that AI systems can cite, and a fixed monitoring routine so that AI systems prefer your own facts instead of making them up.