Google Maps Adds Message Button to Listings

Customers on Android and iOS can now message businesses directly from Google Maps listings, next to the Call button.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Openings & Closings

Google Maps Adds Message Button to Listings

Google expanded messaging to Google Maps on Android and iOS, letting customers find a Message button beside Call on business listings. Previously, locating chat on Maps required scrolling deep into a business profile.

Why it matters

The Message button gives customers an immediate alternative when owners cannot answer calls. Tapping it routes users to business messaging channels, including WhatsApp and SMS/Text.

The feature appears in three locations: the profile view, the expanded header, and the bottom action bar. No adoption or usage figures were disclosed in the announcement.

The players

Google

Google is the technology company that operates Google Maps and Google Business Profiles, and it publishes the monthly Google Small Business Bulletin.

Lisa Landsman

Lisa Landsman is a Google representative who posted the details of the messaging expansion in the Google Business Help Forums.

The details

Lisa Landsman posted the details in the Google Business Help Forums as part of Google's monthly Small Business Bulletin, which offers tips and recaps of new features in Google Maps and Google Business Profiles. The Message button sits next to Call on Google Maps listings for Android and iOS users.

The Google Small Business Bulletin article covering the expansion was published on November 6, 2026.

Market Landscape

The change extends Google Business Profiles, which businesses already use to manage listings across Search and Maps. Adding in-app messaging brings Maps closer to direct business communication channels already used through WhatsApp and SMS.

Customers can now message a business directly from its Google Maps listing when a phone call goes unanswered. Businesses gain an additional customer contact channel without needing to add a separate chat tool to their listing.

The takeaway

Businesses that rely on phone calls alone may miss customers who prefer messaging, so checking that messaging is set up in Google Business Profile is a practical step. Customers facing an unanswered line now have a faster alternative within Maps itself.