What are the parts of a Google Business Profile: categories, posts, Q&A, messaging, attributes and services?

Ascent Vision · Published October 31, 2026

Google's help pages describe a Business Profile as parts that work differently. Categories say what kind of business it is, posts are updates the owner publishes, Q&A holds questions and answers about the place, chat is a message option in the contact details, attributes are facts such as Wi-Fi, and services lists what a business offers. The owner can change most, but customers and Google can change some.

The six parts at a glance

This page repeats what Google's help pages said on 2026-10-31. It does not advise what to enter.

Part	What Google describes	Who can change it	One thing Google states
Categories	A primary category plus extras from Google's list	The owner	Picked from Google's list; you cannot create your own
Posts	Updates, offers and events	The owner	Each is reviewed against Google's posts content policy
Q&A	Questions and answers about the place	Owners and managers; Google Maps users	Available only in certain regions and categories
Chat	A WhatsApp or text option in the contact details	The owner, once claimed and verified	Available only in select regions
Attributes	Facts such as Wi-Fi or outdoor seating	The owner for some; visiting customers for others	Some change only in certain locations or categories
Services	A list of offerings, with optional details	The owner, in certain categories	Custom services that break policy are rejected automatically

Categories, services and attributes

Categories: Google's edit page says an owner can select up to 9 more besides the primary one. Adding or editing one might prompt a request to verify again.

Services: Google says businesses in certain categories, such as service businesses, might be able to list their offerings, picked from suggestions or added as custom entries. Custom services that break Google's policy are rejected automatically.

Attributes: Google says some can be edited directly, while others may be filled in from customers who visit; subjective ones rely on the opinions of Google users who visited.

Posts, chat and Q&A

Posts: Google's post types are updates, offers and events. After publishing, it marks each post Live, Pending or Not approved.

Chat: if a business adds both a WhatsApp and a text option, Google says customers see only the text option.

Q&A: Google's Maps help says people can answer questions about places in Google Maps where the feature is available. Its Business Profile help says owners and others who manage a profile can answer in the Q&A section, and that its appearance might change.

Booking has its own live answer: the related answer on whether customers can book from Google.

Who else can change a profile

Google's updates page says it gathers information from sources such as user reports and licensed content, and may update a profile if sources report it as wrong or out of date; its changes show in blue in the editor. Users can suggest edits. For certain suggestions Google says it notifies the owner, who has 4 days to accept or reject; with no response, Google may publish the update if other public information supports it. The owner can always edit directly.

The related answers on verifying a profile and on giving someone access cover who can edit; the related answer on counting leads covers recording its inquiries.

Sources

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