Your next customer in Johor Bahru will not type "cafe near me". They will ask their phone for a quiet cafe in Mount Austin with easy parking, open late, that works for a video call.
Since August, that question has had a new place to go. Google has been rolling out Ask Maps, a conversational search experience inside Google Maps powered by its Gemini AI, to users in Malaysia and Singapore. Instead of returning a list of pins, it reads the whole request, weighs the details, and recommends a handful of places with reasons attached.
For any business that depends on people walking through the door, the goal shifts from ranking to being recommended. Here is what that means, and what to fix this month.
What is Ask Maps on Google Maps?
Ask Maps first launched in March 2026 in the United States and India. In early August, Google began expanding it to many more countries and territories. The Star and SoyaCincau reported the rollout in Malaysia, and Marketing-Interactive covered the Singapore launch a few days later.
Users tap Ask Maps under the search bar and ask a full question. Reported examples include a quiet restaurant for a conversation, halal eateries open past 10pm, a scenic motorcycle route, or a short itinerary around a hotel. With history settings turned on, it can remember earlier conversations. It also draws on live information such as how busy a place is and public transport delays.
Two caveats matter. The rollout is staged, so not every phone has it yet. And some of the most commercial features, such as ordering food for pickup, checking hotel rates and finding local events, were reported as US only at launch. Those may arrive later, on Google's own timeline.
Why keyword ranking is no longer the whole story
Classic local search ran on short phrases. Someone typed "dim sum JB", saw the map results, and picked from the top few. Your job was to be in that shortlist.
Conversational search stacks conditions. "Dim sum near Taman Pelangi for eight people, kid friendly, easy parking, before 9am on Sunday." A listing that only says "Chinese restaurant" gives the AI nothing to match. A listing with accurate hours, clear attributes, photos of the private room, and reviews that mention families and parking gives it several reasons to pick you.
Google's own guidance still says local results are based mainly on relevance, distance, and prominence, and that there is no way to pay for a better local ranking. What changes is how much detail feeds relevance. The more specific the question, the more your specific details count.
The quiet change most owners missed: profile Q&A is gone
Google has retired the questions and answers section on Business Profiles. The Q&A API was deprecated on 3 November 2025, and the public section was reported to be phased out after that. Industry analysts, including Yext, expect AI generated answers built from your listing, your reviews, and your website to take its place.
In practice, you no longer answer customer questions on your profile. Your profile, your reviews, and your website answer them for you. If those sources are thin or out of date, the answer a customer receives may be thin or wrong too.
How to optimise your Google Business Profile for Ask Maps
1. Complete every field that describes the experience
Categories, opening hours, special holiday hours, and attributes such as parking, WiFi, outdoor seating, wheelchair access and payment options. These are exactly the details conversational questions ask about, and Google's help centre explicitly recommends complete and accurate information.
2. Ask for reviews that describe the visit
Stars alone say little. A prompt on the receipt or table card such as "Tell us what you ordered and who you came with" produces reviews that mention dishes, occasions, and group sizes. Reply to every review, in the language it was written in, whether English, Chinese or Malay. We looked at why engagement only matters when it turns into real visits in Likes Don't Fill Tables.
3. Upload photos that answer questions
The entrance, the car park, the private room, the menu board, the seating at a quiet hour. Each photo removes a doubt a customer might otherwise ask about, or quietly hold against you.
4. Build a real FAQ page on your website
With profile Q&A gone, move those answers to your own site. Write each question the way a customer would say it out loud, answer in two or three sentences, and keep it current. This also helps your website in regular Google search.
5. Check what Maps says about you every month
If Ask Maps is on your phone, ask it the questions your customers ask and see whether you appear. Users can now suggest corrections to places conversationally, subject to Google's standard review, so monitoring your own listing matters more than before.
What this means for Johor Bahru and Singapore businesses
Cross border visitors are where conversational search makes the biggest difference. A Singaporean planning a Saturday in JB rarely knows the neighbourhood names. They will ask for a good bak kut teh place near Bukit Indah that is not too crowded. The listing that answers that question clearly wins the visit, whether it is a long running stall or a new cafe in Iskandar Puteri.
With the RTS Link expected to make the crossing far quicker, that kind of spontaneous planning is likely to grow. We covered the wider preparation in RTS Link 2026: What Johor Bahru Businesses Should Do Before It Opens.
In Singapore, the same logic applies to neighbourhood businesses in Tanjong Pagar, Bugis or Holland Village competing with many similar options within a short walk. When distance stops separating you from competitors, detail does.
For F&B in particular, the phone is already the front door. Our piece on why your customer's phone beats any ad explains how that plays out beyond Maps.
What is winnable, and what is not
Be realistic. A small business will not outrank a large chain on broad questions like "best coffee in Singapore". Where independents can win is the specific question: one with a neighbourhood, an occasion, a dietary need, or a time of day attached. Those are exactly the questions Ask Maps was built to handle, and they are where a well maintained profile can beat a bigger budget.
It is also worth being honest about what nobody knows yet. Google has not published how Ask Maps decides which businesses to recommend. Anyone promising a guaranteed spot is guessing. The safe bet is the one Google already states: complete, accurate, well reviewed listings are more likely to show up.
The bigger picture
Search is moving from keywords to conversations, and local discovery is moving with it. The businesses that benefit will not be the ones with the cleverest tricks. They will be the ones whose information is complete, current and consistent across Maps, reviews, their website, and channels like WhatsApp Business, where customers ask the follow up question before they visit.
The good news is that none of this needs a large budget. It needs one afternoon of housekeeping and a monthly habit.
If you would like a second pair of eyes on your Google Business Profile and local search presence, talk to the ADspace team.
Sources: Google Business Profile Help, "Tips to improve your local ranking on Google"; The Star, 10 August 2026; SoyaCincau, 7 August 2026; Marketing-Interactive, 12 August 2026; Yext, 1 October 2025. Feature availability varies by device and country and may change. This article will be updated as Google confirms further rollout details. ADspace is not affiliated with Google.
Photo by Perry Merrity II on Unsplash.
