The 10-minute Google Business Profile checklist for AI visibility

Why this profile matters more now

Google says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance and prominence, and that businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up. That was true for the map pack long before AI. It now matters for more places: Google's Gemini help pages say Gemini uses public information from Google Maps to help people find places, hours and ratings, and AI Overviews for local questions draw on the same pool of business data.

You can't control what a model writes. You can control the facts it starts from. Open your profile (search your business name on Google while signed in, or go to business.google.com) and work through this list. Each check takes about a minute.

The checklist

1. Your name is your real business name

Google's guidelines say your name should reflect your real-world business name, as used on your signage, website and paperwork. Adding keywords or cities ("Smith Heating Furnace Repair Toronto 24/7") isn't permitted and can get a profile suspended. If that has already happened, see our suspension recovery plan.

Check: the name on your profile matches your truck, your invoices and your website exactly.

2. The primary category is the job you most want

Your first category is the primary one, and you can add up to 9 more. Google suggests using as few as needed to describe your core business. For an HVAC company, the primary is usually "HVAC contractor" or "Heating contractor". Add "Air conditioning contractor", "Furnace repair service" or "Water heater installation service" only if you really do that work. A plumber might pick "Plumber" first, then "Drainage service" or "Water heater installation service".

Check: the primary category matches the work that brings in the most money in your busy season.

3. Your address is set correctly for how you work

Most HVAC and plumbing companies go to the customer. Google's guidelines say a service-area business should hide its address from customers and set a service area instead. If you also run a showroom or counter where customers visit during posted hours, you can show the address and set a service area.

Check: if customers never come to you, the address is hidden.

4. The service area names real places

Add the cities and regions you actually serve: "Mississauga", "Brampton", "Oakville", rather than one huge radius. Google advises keeping a service area within about two hours' driving time of where you're based.

Check: every place on the list is somewhere you'd send a truck this week.

5. Hours are right, including holidays

Wrong hours are one of the fastest ways to lose a caller, and they're a fact an AI answer can repeat. Set regular hours, and set special hours for holidays like Family Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you offer 24-hour emergency service, set hours to match, and say the same thing on your website.

Check: a homeowner looking at your profile on a Sunday night in January gets the truth.

6. Phone and website are the ones you use

Use your main local number and link your website homepage, or a city-specific page if you have one for that location. The number should match your website and directory listings exactly.

Check: call the number on your profile. Click the website link.

7. Services are listed, in plain words

In the Services section, add each service you offer with a short, plain description: "Furnace repair: same-week repair of gas furnaces, all major brands." Google suggests these from your categories, and you can add your own.

Check: every service page on your website has a matching service on your profile.

8. The description says what, where and who

You get up to 750 characters. Use them plainly. One example:

Family-run HVAC company serving Mississauga, Brampton and Oakville since 2009. We repair and install gas furnaces, central air, heat pumps and ductless systems. TSSA-registered fuels contractor with licensed gas technicians. Emergency no-heat calls answered 24 hours a day, October to April.

No links, no prices that change weekly, no claims you can't back up.

Check: your description would make sense read aloud to a stranger.

9. Photos show your real business

Add photos of your team, trucks, completed installs and your logo. Google's tips say photos help show customers your goods and services. Real photos also back up your other facts: a branded van in a driveway says "this company exists and works here".

Check: at least a few photos were taken in the last year, and none are stock images.

10. Every recent review has a reply

Google's local ranking tips encourage you to reply to reviews, and say more reviews and positive ratings can help. Reply to the good ones briefly and by name of the job ("Glad the new furnace is keeping you warm in Etobicoke"). Reply to the bad ones calmly, once, with a way to reach you.

Then keep reviews coming. Ask every customer, with a direct review link. Google's content policy bans paying or offering discounts for reviews, and it bans asking only the customers you expect to be happy.

Check: no review from the last three months is sitting without a reply.

After the ten minutes

• Verify the profile if you haven't. Unverified profiles have limited features.
• Turn on messaging only if someone will actually answer.
• Post an update before each season: furnace tune-ups in September, AC checks in May. Updates show the profile is active.
• Check for suggested edits. Anyone can suggest changes to a public profile. Look at it monthly so an old address or wrong hours don't creep back.
• Make your website match. Everything above should match your site. Our service page template shows how to write those pages.

What this won't do

A tidy profile won't move a business with 12 reviews ahead of one with 600 overnight, and it won't put you in an AI answer for a city 80 km away. Distance and prominence still count. What it does is remove the easy reasons to skip you: wrong category, missing hours, a confusing name, no service area. For the rest, see why AI Overviews skip some local contractors.