In an unexpected move, Google has announced that it will be discontinuing its chat and call history features within Google Business Profile. The shutdown process will begin on July 15, 2024, with the functionalities losing support entirely by July 31. Businesses utilizing these features received the news directly through email without any online announcement.
Google acknowledged the challenges that this decision may pose but reaffirmed its commitment to improving its tools to support businesses using its products and services. From July 15, customers will no longer be able to start new chat conversations with businesses on the platform. Existing chats will be notified of the upcoming deprecation, and on July 31, chat messages and call history will be removed.
To help businesses with record-keeping purposes, Google advised customers to download their chat and call histories using Google Takeout. Additionally, the company suggested businesses invite customers with ongoing chat conversations to alternate chat channels. While these features may not have been popular among users, they were still valuable for many businesses looking for a centralized location for their customer interactions. With their removal, some users may turn to competitors such as Meta’s business chats across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The impact of this decision on customers remains uncertain but could potentially result in wider negative implications for Google if a significant number of users decide to leave the platform altogether or switch to competitors.
TechRadar Pro has reached out to Google for more information on the decision and its potential impact on customers.
