Google has announced it will discontinue the chat feature in Google Business Profiles. The wind-down process will start on July 15, with the feature being fully retired by July 31.

In an email to businesses, Google acknowledged the difficulty of this decision and emphasized its commitment to remaining a helpful partner in business management.

Starting July 15, customers will no longer be able to initiate new chat conversations with businesses through Google. Ongoing chats will notify customers about the phase-out.Businesses are encouraged to download their chat history and consider alternative chat solutions to continue customer interactions seamlessly.

Despite the chat feature’s discontinuation, customers will still be able to contact businesses via Google Search and Maps and access detailed business information from profiles.