Guide to Google’s Business Messages: Connect with customers before they reach your website
Bird
3 Aug 2021
Google Business Messages
1 min read
Key Takeaways
Google’s Business Messages (GBM) allows customers to message businesses directly from Google Search, Google Maps, Ads, or embedded website widgets—before they ever reach your site.
GBM is a mobile-first messaging channel featuring rich UI elements: product carousels, quick reply buttons, suggested actions, photos, business hours, and expected wait times.
Conversation history lasts 30 days, enabling seamless continuity when customers return.
CSAT surveys can be embedded at the end of each conversation, helping improve both ranking visibility and customer experience insights.
With more than 92% of global mobile search volume and 70,000 Google queries per second, GBM taps into high-intent customer moments.
79% of consumers prefer messaging over calling, making GBM a powerful alternative to legacy phone support.
GBM helps businesses convert search interest into conversations, purchases, and long-term loyalty.
It reduces operational costs by shifting expensive phone calls to efficient chat experiences.
Companies can activate GBM manually through Maps—but advanced use cases require a Google partner like Bird.
Bird’s omnichannel suite enhances GBM with unified inboxing, no-code automation, and API-level integrations.
Flow Builder lets businesses automate FAQs, routing, and handoffs without writing code.
Bird’s Conversations API enables developers to build custom GBM experiences alongside channels like WhatsApp, SMS, email, and Instagram.
Q&A Highlights
What is Google’s Business Messages?
A mobile-first messaging channel that lets customers chat with businesses directly from Google Search, Maps, Ads, and website widgets.
Why is GBM so effective?
It appears exactly where customer intent is highest—inside Google results, before a customer even visits your website.
Which devices support GBM?
Both iOS and Android users can access Business Messages through Search or Maps.
What rich features does GBM support?
Carousels, suggested replies, buttons, photos, business details, and built-in CSAT surveys.
How does GBM improve customer experience?
It offers fast, personalized chat interactions right at the moment customers are searching for your business.
Why is messaging preferred over calling?
79% of consumers prefer conversational messaging because it’s faster, more convenient, and asynchronous.
Can customers resume previous conversations?
Yes — GBM stores chat history for 30 days, allowing continuity when users return.
How does GBM help with sales conversions?
It turns search results into real-time conversations, reducing friction and accelerating decisions.
Does GBM help reduce support costs?
Yes — shifting from phone calls to chat lowers operational costs and increases agent efficiency.
How can businesses start using GBM?
Either activate it through Google Maps or partner with a provider like Bird for full-scale implementation.
Why use Bird instead of setting it up manually?
Bird adds automation, unified omnichannel support, CRM context, and advanced workflows that Google’s native setup doesn’t provide.
Can GBM be integrated with existing systems?
Yes — via Bird’s Conversations API, GBM can be combined with WhatsApp, SMS, Email, Instagram, and other channels for a unified experience.
Google recently released a brand new way to engage with your customers — even before they make it to your website.
It’s called Google’s Business Messages.
We’re excited to be one of a few Google partners that can get you started today.
This blog will cover all you need to know about Google’s Business Messages, including:
A brief introduction
Why implement Google’s Business Messages?
The end user experience
How to get started
Why partnering with a trusted Google partner like Bird can help you get more out of your implementation
What is Google’s Business Messages?
Google's Business Messages (GBM) is a mobile-first messaging channel that allows customers to message businesses directly from the following entry points:
Google Search
Google Maps
Ads
Website widgets
Business Messages appears for the end user as a clearly defined button located next to the familiar “Call” or “Directions” buttons, for both iOS and Android devices.
When a user clicks to begin a real-time, live chat, Business Messages turns into a conversational channel supercharged with rich messages and personalization capabilities.
Rich messages include:
Product carousels and cards to streamline purchases
Suggested replies to solve queries faster
Buttons to guide conversations and route messages to the right agent
Photos to quickly validate claims from customers
Personalized capabilities like expected wait times, business hours and answers to frequently asked questions help to build trust with your customers.
Plus, at the end of each conversation, a CSAT survey can be sent.
By conducting these reviews, businesses gain valuable feedback on its customer experience and can help itself rank higher (increase visibility) on Google results with good reviews.
And the customer interaction is remembered for 30 days, so if they return, the conversation can pick up right where it left off.
Why should my business use Google’s Business Messages?
How to get started
There are two ways to set up Google’s Business Messages — via the app or a communications partner.
1. Set up Business Messages via the Application
Go to your Google Maps app
Click on Updates > Messages > Business
Click on settings and turn on messaging
However, if you want to get the most out of your customer communication, it is highly recommended to implement Google’s Business Messages with a Google partner.
2. Integrate Business Messages with Bird
Sign up on Google’s Business Messages with Bird to be among the first to go live — to start messaging with your customers as soon as possible.
Partner with a trusted provider, like Bird
Ready to unlock the full potential of Google’s Business Messages? Pair it with the flexibility of Bird’s omnichannel solutions.
With Bird, seamlessly unify all conversations, build smart automations and develop custom solutions within one API — to drive better customer experiences and business results.
One shared Inbox for all of your customers’ preferred channels
Centralize all of your conversations into one single thread, across all channels (Google’s Business Messages, WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS, email and more). Connect your agents with the customer data they need for fast and personalized support.
Easily automate and orchestrate interactions with Flow Builder
Deploy smart automations without a single line of code on Google’s Business Messages. Shift costly phone calls to private chat messages, answer FAQs, transfer to a live agent when needed, and more — all within your existing tooling.
Integrate Google’s Business Messages directly with Conversations API
Develop custom Google’s Business Messages solutions using the Conversations API, alongside channels like SMS, Email, WhatsApp and more.
We can’t wait to see the customer experiences you build using Google’s Business Messages and Bird.
Are you ready to get started? Try it for free.
Do you have more questions? Contact one of our experts.
