Google Maps’ Biggest Update in a Decade: What It Means for London Businesses

If you run a business that depends on local customers finding you, and in London that’s most businesses, this changes how people discover you, evaluate you, and decide whether to visit.

Here’s what’s actually happening, what it means, and what you should do about it.

2026 Google Maps Update: What is changing

Two big things.

Ask Maps turns Google Maps into a conversation. Instead of typing “Italian restaurant Soho” and scrolling through results, people can now ask things like “Where can I get a quiet dinner near Oxford Circus that isn’t too pricey?” or “Is there somewhere with good coffee and a phone charger near King’s Cross?”

Maps then uses Gemini AI to pull from its database of over 300 million places and 500 million community reviews to give a conversational, personalised answer. Complete with photos, directions, and booking options.

Immersive Navigation replaces the old flat map view with a 3D representation of your actual surroundings, including buildings, road features, lane markings, and traffic lights. It’s rolling out in the US and India first, but Google has been extending Gemini features to walking and cycling globally since January 2026.

The important bit for businesses isn’t the 3D driving visuals. It’s Ask Maps. Because it fundamentally changes how customers find local businesses.

A note on timing: Ask Maps launched in the US and India on 12 March 2026. Google hasn’t confirmed a UK date, but their pattern is to test stateside then expand globally within months. The smart move for London businesses is to get your foundations sorted now, not scramble when it arrives.

Why this matters more than a typical Google update

Let me put some numbers around this.

46% of all Google searches already have local intent. That’s over 7 billion searches a day where someone is looking for something nearby. 86% of people use Google Maps specifically to find business locations and information. And 76% of people who search “near me” on mobile visit a business within 24 hours.

Those numbers were already significant. What Ask Maps does is change the nature of the query itself.

Previously, local search was keyword-based. Someone types “web design agency London” and Google shows a list. Your ranking depended on traditional local SEO: Google Business Profile completeness, reviews, website authority, proximity.

Now, with Ask Maps, the query becomes conversational and contextual. “Which London agencies actually specialise in custom WordPress builds and have worked with big brands?” That’s a fundamentally different question. And Google’s AI has to decide which businesses to recommend based on a much richer set of signals.

This is the local version of exactly what we’ve been talking about with GEO. AI tools are making recommendations, not just showing listings. Your business needs to be the one that gets recommended.

There are two more changes being tested in the US that make this even more urgent.

First, Google is removing the tap-to-call button from the local map pack in some areas. Instead of calling a business directly from the listing, users are being funnelled through the AI layer first, where they can compare businesses side by side. In testing, users can ask follow-up questions like “What’s the difference between these two electricians?” and Google compares and contrasts using data from across the web. If this rolls out to the UK, the businesses that win won’t be the ones at the top of a list. They’ll be the ones AI recommends after evaluating everything it can find about them.

Second, recent research shows that when a Google AI Overview appears in search results, the top-ranking page now loses around 58% of its clicks, up from 35% just a year earlier. For local businesses, this means your Google Business Profile and Maps presence is becoming more important than your website ranking alone.

What Ask Maps uses to make recommendations

Google hasn’t published the exact algorithm (they never do), but based on what we know about how Gemini processes information and what Google has said publicly, Ask Maps draws on:

Your Google Business Profile completeness. Businesses with complete, accurate profiles are 2.7 times more likely to be considered trustworthy by Google’s systems. That includes business description, services, attributes, hours, and categories. 75% of businesses that land in the top three local positions have filled in their description section fully.

Reviews, volume and recency. Businesses in the top three local positions typically have over 200 Google reviews. But it’s not just about quantity. Ask Maps can parse review content to understand what people actually say about you. If someone asks “which agencies are good at explaining things in plain English?” and your reviews mention exactly that, you’re more likely to surface.

Photos and visual content. Businesses with photos get 42% more direction requests and 35% more website clicks. With Ask Maps pulling photos into conversational answers, this becomes even more important.

Website content and structured data. This is where most London businesses are leaving opportunity on the table. Ask Maps doesn’t just look at your Google Business Profile. It draws on your website content too. If your site clearly describes what you do, who you serve, and what makes you different, with proper schema markup to help AI parse it, you’re giving Gemini more to work with.

Third-party signals. This is bigger than most people realise. Testing in the US shows Google’s AI Mode pulling data from 14 or more external sources when building a business recommendation, not just your Google Business Profile and website. It’s drawing from Yelp, Facebook, HomeAdvisor, Indeed, Nextdoor, Trustpilot, and industry-specific directories. For London businesses, this means your presence across review platforms and directories directly affects whether AI recommends you. Inconsistent information across platforms is a trust signal, and not a good one.

The “near me” economy is getting smarter

Here’s the thing. “Near me” searches have doubled in the past year. 1.5 billion “near me” queries happen every month. And 78% of local mobile searches now result in an offline purchase within 24 hours.

But the nature of “near me” is shifting. It used to mean proximity. Now, with Ask Maps, it means proximity plus context plus intent plus personalisation.

Someone searching “self storage near me” in Salisbury will get different recommendations than someone in Yeovil, not just because of distance, but because Ask Maps considers the context of their question, their search history, and the quality of information available about each business.

We’ve seen this play out with our client Headmasters, who run 56 salons across London. Their dominance in “hair salon near me” and “hairdressers near me” searches didn’t happen by accident. It came from optimised Google Business Profiles for every single location, consistent review generation, structured data on their website, and high-intent local content. That foundation means they’re already well-positioned for Ask Maps recommendations.

What most London businesses are getting wrong

Despite all this data showing how important local search is, the reality is a bit shocking.

56% of retailers still haven’t claimed or fully optimised their Google Business Profile. Only 38% of small businesses have a structured review management strategy. 45% of local business websites aren’t even mobile-optimised, despite the fact that 58% of Google searches now happen on smartphones.

And here’s the one that really matters for Ask Maps: most businesses have almost no structured data on their websites. No organisation schema. No local business schema. No FAQ markup. Nothing that helps AI understand what the business actually does.

That’s a massive gap. And for any London business willing to do the work, it’s a massive opportunity.

What you should do right now

If you’re a London business that depends on local customers, here’s your priority list.

1. Audit your Google Business Profile properly

Not just “is it claimed?” but “is every single field completed?” Check your business description, services, attributes, categories, hours (including special hours), photos, and products. A complete profile gets seven times more clicks than an incomplete one.

Quick win: add fresh photos this week. Google wants to see active businesses. Even one post per week makes a noticeable difference to how Google treats your profile.

2. Get serious about reviews, everywhere

If you don’t have a systematic approach to generating reviews, start one today. After every job, every sale, every positive interaction, send a quick message asking for a review. Make it easy. Send the direct link.

And not just Google. Because AI Mode pulls from multiple platforms, you need reviews on Trustpilot, Yelp, Facebook, and any industry-specific platforms relevant to your sector. If you can only focus on one, make it Google. But a spread of reviews across platforms gives AI tools more confidence in recommending you.

Respond to every review, positive and negative. It shows Google and potential customers that you’re engaged. Businesses that don’t respond to reviews are measurably more likely to drop in local rankings.

3. Fix your website’s structured data

This is the technical bit most agencies skip. Your website needs schema markup that tells AI tools exactly what your business is, where it’s located, what services you offer, and what questions you answer.

At minimum, you need organisation schema, local business schema on your contact page, FAQ schema on relevant pages, and service schema for each service you offer. This is what we build into every WordPress site as standard, and it’s the technical foundation that makes the difference between being listed and being recommended.

4. Create location-specific content

If you serve multiple areas across London, you need content that specifically addresses each area. Not thin doorway pages with just the location name swapped out, but genuinely useful content that demonstrates you understand the local market.

5. Audit your directory presence

Google’s AI Mode pulls from well over a dozen external sites when building recommendations. Check that your business information is consistent and complete across Yelp, Trustpilot, Facebook, and any industry-specific directories relevant to your sector. If your website says one thing and your Yelp listing says another, you’ve got a consistency problem that directly undermines AI trust signals.

6. Mine your competitors’ reviews for content ideas

Here’s a smart tactic. Look at your competitors’ negative reviews. What are customers complaining about? Those complaints are the exact questions your potential customers are asking. Turn them into FAQ content on your website. If people are frustrated by agencies that miss deadlines or designers who disappear after launch, address those concerns directly on your site. AI tools are looking for businesses that answer the questions customers actually have.

7. Think about what Ask Maps will “hear” about you

Here’s a useful exercise. Open ChatGPT or Perplexity and ask: “What’s the best [your service] in [your area]?” See what comes back. If you’re not being mentioned, you’ve got a visibility problem that goes beyond traditional SEO. The signals that get you recommended by Ask Maps are the same signals that get you recommended by other AI tools.

This is GEO applied locally

Everything about this Google Maps update reinforces what we’ve been saying about Generative Engine Optimisation. AI tools are becoming the gatekeepers of discovery. Whether someone asks ChatGPT for a recommendation, gets an answer from Google’s AI Overviews, or now asks Google Maps directly, the businesses that win are the ones with the strongest trust signals, the clearest information, and the most complete digital presence.

The first-mover window is real. 56% of local businesses still haven’t properly set up their profiles. Most don’t have structured data. Few have a review strategy across multiple platforms. The London businesses that sort this now will be the ones Ask Maps recommends when it hits the UK. The rest will wonder where their footfall went.

Stuart Watkins is the founder of London Web Design Agency, with 35 years of marketing experience and over two decades of building websites that rank. His agency specialises in GEO strategy, custom WordPress development, and helping London businesses get found in an AI-driven search landscape.