Google recently announced a significant change in its Google Business Profile service, declaring the discontinuation of its chat option and call history feature. This decision will bring a considerable shift in business to customer interactions through the platform.
Consequently, businesses will no longer be able to directly communicate with clients via chat or keep track of phone inquiries using the call history functionality. These modifications are anticipated to impact customer relations and service procedures that many businesses have been using Google Business Profile for.
Despite these changes, Google unveiled plans to introduce alternatives that align with their new strategies. As of present, the chat feature no longer supports new discussions, which will all be closed by July 31st. Similarly, the call history function will be taken offline by the month’s end.
Google provided a preliminary notice to users about the disengagement of these functions and ensured that this transition was communicated efficiently.
Discontinuation of chat, call history in Google Business Profile
This included guidance and a plethora of resources to help users navigate effectively through these substantial changes. Users were also encouraged to give feedback and seek assistance whenever necessary. The aim was to cause minimum disruption to the user experience while promising continuous updates to maintain and improve their current services.
The chat button has also been deactivated for new discussions. However, chats that were initiated a few days before will remain operational until July 31, 2024, when they will be fully discontinued.
Google advises business owners to download their historical call history and back up all previous chat records or call history logs via the provided alert function or the reminder email that was issued recently.
Notably, businesses that heavily depend on these services must download their chat and call history data before the cessation. This archived information, pivotal to Customer Relationship Management systems and databases, contains essential documentation of customer communications and interactions. Losing such data could impact businesses’ customer service processes negatively.
