Google’s introduced that will probably be shutting down the chat and name historical past options on Google Enterprise Profiles in July, because it strikes to streamline its enterprise instruments.

“The what?” I hear you ask.

Yeah, it’s not a extremely used aspect of the Google Enterprise providing, however proper now, customers of Google Search, Maps and Purchasing can get in contact with your small business direct from the in-stream listings, by initiating a chat from the show.

Google Enterprise chat is an non-obligatory aspect of your Google Enterprise profile, which you want to particularly activate and/or deactivate for every Google platform, with an vital proviso being that companies need to reply to any messages inside 24 hours.

That gives one other, easy means for customers to make contact, and will, at the least in principle, provide help to generate extra leads out of your Google listings.

However evidently, it hasn’t confirmed fashionable.

I’d hazard a guess that the 24-hour time restrict is one obstacle, whereas it’s additionally fairly doable that quite a lot of enterprise homeowners didn’t know that it existed. However both means, it’s not seeing sufficient take-up to maintain supporting it, so Google’s retiring the choice as of July thirty first, 2024.

As reported by Search Engine Land:

“Google will cease permitting new chats to be initiated beginning on July 15, 2024 after which will completely disable the chat and name historical past options on July 31, 2024. You possibly can obtain your chat and name historical past from Google Enterprise Profiles, so you possibly can retailer them someplace. Sooner or later, Google will delete the historical past.”

Once more, it’s not a significant aspect, so the influence gained’t be important. However you probably have been utilizing this function, it’s price noting that it’s going away, and that customers will not be capable of provoke a chat from Google surfaces.