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Gemini small business tools and your Business Profile
Google's new Gemini tools for small businesses can now work with your Business Profile. On October 20, 2026, Google said you can connect Gemini to Google Business Profile, Google Ads, and Google Workspace. You do not have to connect it. If you do, fix your profile first, read every draft before it goes out, and know how to disconnect.
What the Gemini small business tools can do
Google first announced the Business Profile link on June 10, 2026. Its examples were asking Gemini how your business did this month, and asking it to "help me respond to my latest review". Google also said Gemini can update operating hours, post seasonal updates, and spot gaps in your profile.
Google's help page for the feature says Gemini can update your profile, such as business hours, contact info, and action links, draft review replies and create posts, and show performance metrics and search keywords. That is real access to the page customers see first.
On October 20, Google also said the new Gemini business tools were "beginning to roll out in the coming days globally for all Gemini app users". That post did not give prices. It did not describe Business Profile features in detail, so rely on the help page for those.
Who can connect it, and who cannot
The requirements are narrow. Google's help page says you must be "an owner or manager of only one verified Business Profile on Google", be 18 or over, and be signed in to the Gemini web app with a personal Google Account tied to the profile. It says the feature is not available with a work or school account "for now." It also says Keep Activity must be on, and Gemini cannot connect when that setting is off.
Google's June post said the rollout excluded the EEA and UK. The current help page lists no country limits, so check whether you see the option. If you run several locations, or your profile sits under a work account, you may not. That is fine. Everything below still works by hand.
Before you connect Gemini, fix your business profile
An assistant edits what it finds. If your hours are wrong today, it will start from the wrong hours. Spend a little time on the basics first.
- Check your hours against the real schedule, including holidays.
- Check that the phone number rings on your desk or cell.
- Check that the website link goes to the page you want customers on.
- Check your service areas and categories for jobs you no longer take.
- Write down who is allowed to change the profile. One named person is enough.
Also look at what other people have already changed. Our post on Google Business Profile suggested edits covers the weekly check for edits you did not make yourself.
Read every review reply before it posts
Review replies are where an AI draft can hurt you. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, "Generic or templated replies put off 50% of consumers." The same survey found that 80% say they are likely to use a business that responds to all of its reviews. So replies matter, and sameness costs you.
Google says an approved reply "will appear like your business replied". The draft speaks for you. The help page for the Gemini connection does not describe a confirmation step before changes go live, so make your own rule: nothing posts until a person has read it.
- Add the job or the day if you know it. Drop any customer details.
- Delete claims you cannot back up, such as promises of a price or a time.
- Do not accuse a reviewer of lying. Say you cannot find the job and give a phone number.
- Change the opening line so it is not the same on every reply.
If one review looks fake, an AI reply is the wrong tool. Read what to do while a Google review appeal is delayed first.
Business Home is a separate, closed beta
Do not confuse the Gemini connection with Business Home. Search Engine Roundtable reported on October 22, 2026 that Google has a Business Home beta, and Google's help page calls it "a closed beta experience, available only to select business categories in the US and the UK". Google lists a verified profile with fewer than 10 locations as a requirement.
If you are not invited, you have nothing to do. The report on Business Home says it seems Google has been rolling it out slowly to some businesses over the past couple of months.
What to do this week
- Fix the five profile basics above before you try any AI tool.
- Decide if you want Gemini on your profile. Skipping it costs you nothing.
- If you connect it, test with one small task, such as a seasonal hours post. Check the result on Google.
- Note where to turn it off. Google says you can disconnect the Business Profile app at any time in Connected Apps Settings.
- Keep one person in charge of replies and approvals.
Your profile is one half of how customers find you, and your website is the other. See our guide to AI search for local service businesses for what your site has to say clearly. A rebuilt site like the ones on our case studies page is one way to make that true.
If you want this done from the site you already have, Vortex Personal is $59 a month for one live site. Pro is $449 a month for up to 10. Business is $2,499 a month for up to 150. Hosting is included. A year is ten times the month price. The old site stays up until you switch.
Paste the address you already run and start a rebuild.
Sources
Google, The Keyword: New Gemini tools for small business owners (October 20, 2026)
Google, The Keyword: Save time and grow your business with new Gemini tools (June 10, 2026)
Google Business Profile Help: Reply to reviews (current as of October 28, 2026)
Google Business Home Help (current as of October 28, 2026)
BrightLocal: Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 (February 11, 2026)
Photo: "Electrician Working" by editor B, CC BY 2.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons
