Google has been rolling out "chat with live agent" buttons in some local business panels within Google Search. This seems to be part of the Google Business Profile messaging platform.
This was spotted in the Local Search Forums and this picture was posted there:
Joel Headley, former Googler who worked in the local side of things, wrote on Twitter, "We were told they intended to roll it out to desktop web some time ago. Glad to see it finally happening." He added this can show up if the business is using Google's Business Messages. "When a third party integration is being used, it is OFF thru GBP," he added.
Joy Hawkins also posted this on Twitter and it seems like it was new for most local SEOs.
Have you seen this?
Another example:
Google seems to use different language depending on the category pic.twitter.com/cF3dOs6yuu
— Mike Blumenthal (@mblumenthal) May 8, 2023
Google did add messaging to local and search back a couple of years ago. But the "chat with a live agent" interface seems a bit different.
Forum discussion at Local Search Forums.
Update in August 2023, another example:
First time seeing this "module" on a hotel's K.P., "Chat with a Live agent". It does not seem to be Google Messages, it is an integration from the company QuickText. It seems it's only available for hotels... @azcona14 @contenidoseocom @GuideTwit @rustybrick #hotelseo pic.twitter.com/hnFlybgONi
— Lluc B. Penycate Ⓐ (@Lluc_SEO) August 24, 2023
