New: Google testing AI-generated review responses

Hello,

Here’s what you might have missed from last week 👇️

1. Why Google can’t stop prioritizing keywords in the GBP business name

Getting outranked just because someone stuffed keywords into their business name sucks, but there’s a good reason Google still allows it:

Keywords in the Google Business Profile business name is the #3 most powerful local ranking factor according to the 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors survey. And it’s one of the easiest factors to manipulate.

So why doesn’t Google just remove the influence of business names entirely?

If someone searches for “plumber near me” and a business is literally called “Plumber Near Me”, Google has a problem.

Even if that name looks like spam, Google still has to show it, because Google doesn’t know if you’re searching for a type of business or a specific business name.

If someone really is looking for a business called “Plumber Near Me” and Google hides it, that’s a bad search experience. So Google has to show it.

That’s why keywords in the business name continue to be such a powerful local ranking factor.

Of course, this makes the system very easy to game, but Google is stuck in a tough position with this one.

See what other local SEOs think in the LinkedIn comments.

2. How to transfer ownership of a Google Business Profile

People often forget about this when buying/selling a business: Transferring primary ownership of the Google Business Profile.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Profile you want to edit

2. Click the three dots to the right of your screen and select “Business Profile Settings”

3. Go to “People and access”

4. Find the person you want to make the Primary owner and click the pencil icon

5. Select “Make Primary Owner”

Note that only the current Primary Owner can do this.

Once you do this, the new person becomes the Primary owner, and you’ll remain listed as an Owner.

This is especially important when:

• selling a business

• purchasing a business

• transferring management to a new owner

After the transfer is complete, it’s also a good time to set up proper local rank tracking so the new owner understands how the business is performing in Google Maps.

And if you’re a local SEO nerd like me, you should try Whitespark’s Local Ranking Grids. The grid visualization is beautiful, and it makes it really easy to see where you rank at a glance.

3. Google is testing AI-generated replies for reviews in Google Business Profile.

This is interesting for a couple of reasons:

1. It shows Google REALLY wants businesses to respond to reviews. They’re even willing to introduce AI to make it easier for them.

2. It suggests Google is comfortable with AI-assisted content (at least in this context).

I first saw this shared by Chandan Mishra. From what he shared in his post, it seems that the AI generates a suggested reply, but you still have to review and submit it yourself.

I think that it's a pretty nice feature! As long as people review the AI-generated response and edit it before submitting, this could make review management faster and easier.

4. Catch up on the pod

Eric Levine, who used to work on the Local Services Ads team at Google and now runs his own agency, recently participated in a panel discussion with Near Media.

The topic was “How to build an LSA service for your marketing agency”.

I thought Eric’s advice on photos was particularly interesting. He says the photos in your ad should represent what the customer’s journey will be like if they hire your business. For example, if you have a plumbing company:

• Photo 1: your branded truck in the driveway

• Photo 2: your employee, in their uniform, at the front door

• Photos 3, 4, 5: action shots of the job getting done (fixing the sink, etc.)

• Photo 6: shaking hands with the customer

• Final image: your logo

Also, contrary to what some LSA practitioners suggest, Eric doesn’t think that Google cares if you frequently upload new photos to your LSA account.

Claire and I discussed this in last week’s podcast episode, plus:

• The AI Playbook for Restaurants: What to Do Right Now (David "Rev" Ciancio)

• New Branded Queries Filter in Google Search Console

• I Built a 60,000-Page AI Website for $10: GPTBot Crawled It 30,000+ Times in 12 Hours (Metehan Yeşilyurt)

• New Attribute in Google Business Profile (Claire Carlile, Hava Hadzhiibryam)

• New Google Business Profile Playbooks

Watch the full episode 👇️

🎧 Or if you prefer listening, find it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Darren

P.S. Whitespark can help you ⬇️

😍 Visualize your local search performance on the most beautiful ranking grids

🚨 Get notified when Google updates your GBP and reject unwanted changes

🚀 Increase your local rankings and conversions

📈 Track rankings across different zip/post-codes

⭐️ Get more reviews

🧹 Clean up and build citations

🔍 Find citation opportunities

✍️ Learn local SEO for free

Follow me on these platforms for all my local SEO tips:

• YouTube

• LinkedIn

• Facebook

• Reddit

• Instagram

• TikTok

• Bluesky

• Threads