Key points
- Since 6 August 2026, Ask Maps in Google Maps takes questions in Indonesian. Google hasn't said how it picks places, so no ranking trick is certain.
- What you control is your profile: hours, special hours, a menu with the same prices as your POS, photos of real dishes, and true attributes.
- You can manage your Business Profile through Gemini (announced 10 June 2026), but only if you have one verified profile, and it is rolling out gradually.
- Read every AI-drafted reply first. Google's policy bans rewards for reviews, asking only happy customers for reviews, and review targets for staff.
Picture this: someone stands a short walk from your outlet and asks Google Maps, "Is there a quiet cafe around here where we can talk?" Maps answers with suggested places. If the hours on your Google profile are wrong, or your menu there still shows old prices, that person may pick somewhere else, or arrive expecting something you don't offer.
Since August 2026, people in Indonesia can ask questions like that in Indonesian. Your job stays simple: a correct, honest profile and good replies to reviews.
Note: What this article says about Google Maps, Gemini, and Google Business Profile comes from Google's official blog and help pages, read on 13 October 2026, and it may change. Kazeer is not affiliated with Google. The street name, questions, and prices here are examples.
What Ask Maps is, and since when
Ask Maps is a question-and-answer feature in Google Maps that uses Gemini, Google's AI. People ask in ordinary sentences, typed or spoken, and Maps answers with suggested places.
According to the March announcement, Ask Maps answers draw on place information, user reviews, and web content, and they can be tailored to the past searches and saved places of the person asking.
| Still unclear | Status on 13 October 2026 |
|---|
| How Google picks the places it suggests | Google hasn't said |
| Booking a restaurant table through Ask Maps | Mentioned in the India announcement, not mentioned for Indonesia |
Because Google hasn't said how places are picked, there is no ranking trick anyone can be sure of. A service that promises your outlet will show up in Ask Maps has nothing to base that promise on. What you can control is the information about your own outlet.
See your outlet the way customers do
In the March announcement, Google explains how: open Google Maps, tap the Ask Maps button, then ask by text or voice.
Ask three or four questions your customers might ask, and name your outlet's area. For a cafe on Jalan Kaliurang, for example:
- A quiet cafe for a chat near Jalan Kaliurang.
- A place for breakfast that opens at 07:00 near Jalan Kaliurang.
- What time does (your outlet's name) open on Sunday, and what do the reviews say?
Write down what you find, something like this:
| Question | Your outlet mentioned? | What needs fixing |
|---|
| Quiet cafe for a chat | Yes | Closing time shows 21:00, but you close at 22:00 |
| Breakfast at 07:00 | No | Your profile has no breakfast menu |
The answers you see can differ from what a customer sees, so use these notes to find wrong or missing information, not to measure a ranking. If an answer mentions a complaint from reviews, such as slow orders on weekends, talk it over with your team first and fix it at the outlet.
Tidy up your Google Business Profile
Ask Maps draws on place information and reviews. The information about your own outlet is what you manage in your Google Business Profile, your outlet's page on Google Maps and Google Search. The basics stay the same: correct hours and special hours, a menu with the same prices as on your POS, photos of dishes you really serve, and true attributes. The Google Business Profile guide walks through each one.
What's new is AI in the menu editor. According to Google, the menu editor for food and drink businesses has limited availability (opens in a new tab), so your profile may not have it yet. If it does, note two things from the menu editor help page (opens in a new tab):
- You can build a menu from a photo or a PDF: AI turns it into items, descriptions, and prices. Google calls this feature experimental and asks you to review the menu.
- Google may copy a menu from your business website. If the menu on your site is out of date, update it, or opt out through the link on that help page.
Example: Kopi Susu Aren costs Rp22,000 on your POS, but the old menu photo you uploaded still says Rp20,000. The AI reads the price from the photo. If you don't check it, Google shows Rp20,000 and customers find out the real price only when they pay. Check every price before you publish the menu.
Gemini for your Business Profile
On 10 June 2026, Google announced (opens in a new tab) that business owners can connect their Google Business Profile to Gemini. Once it is connected, Gemini uses your reviews, customer questions, and profile performance data to answer you. The rollout was scheduled to start that month, except in the European Economic Area and the UK.
According to Google's help page (opens in a new tab), in the Gemini web app you can change your hours, menu, photos, attributes, and contact details; draft review replies; create and schedule Update, Offer, and Event posts; summarize review themes; and see profile performance and search keywords.
The requirements:
- You own or manage only one verified Business Profile.
- You are 18 or older.
- You use a personal Google Account. Work and school accounts aren't supported yet.
- Keep Activity is turned on in Gemini.
Indonesian is one of the supported languages, but the feature is being released gradually and may not show up in your account yet. If you own several outlets, each with its own verified profile, you can't use it, so manage each profile the usual way. Kazeer's catalog is managed per outlet, so match the menu on each profile with that outlet's catalog.
To start, go to gemini.google.com with the same account you use for your Business Profile, then ask something about your profile. If it isn't connected, Gemini offers to connect it. If Gemini doesn't use your profile data, add @Google Business Profile to your request, for example:
- "Summarize the complaints that come up most often in this month's reviews."
- "Change my Sunday hours to 08:00 to 21:00."
Customers will see what you change through Gemini on your profile, so check the result on Google Maps. If you put up an Offer post for a promo price, set the same price in Kazeer's promo feature, so your cashier charges what Google shows. For how to cost a promotion that still leaves a profit, see the article on slow-hour promotions.
Reviews: AI drafts, you decide
According to Google's help page on replying to reviews (opens in a new tab), your business must be verified before you can reply. Replies are checked against Google's content policies first, which usually takes up to 10 minutes but can take up to 30 days. Once approved, a reply appears publicly under the review, in your business's name.
The Gemini help page doesn't say whether a drafted reply posts right away or waits for your approval. Treat every draft as unfinished: read it and edit it before it goes out.
Google Maps content policy (opens in a new tab) bans businesses from:
- offering anything in return for a review, such as money, discounts, or free goods and services;
- asking only happy customers for reviews, or discouraging negative ones;
- asking staff to collect a set number of reviews.
So "10% off for a five-star review" and "a target of 5 reviews per shift" both break the rules. Reviews by your own staff can also count as a conflict of interest. Ask every customer for a review the same way, for example with a QR code near the POS.
How to reply to reviews, with a sample reply to a complaint, is in the Google Business Profile guide. When you edit a draft from Gemini, check three things:
- The draft only covers what's in the review. Delete anything the review doesn't mention.
- Any step it mentions is one you have really taken. Delete promises you can't keep.
- There's no customer data, such as a phone number or order details from your POS records. Don't paste that data into a request to an AI either.
A monthly routine
Pick one fixed day each month, such as the first Monday:
- Ask your Ask Maps questions again, then compare the answers with last month's notes.
- Run the monthly checklist in the Google Business Profile guide: special hours, menu and prices, reviews, photos, and posts.
- If your menu on Google was built from a photo or copied from your website, match every price with the price on your Kazeer POS. Menu changes can take 24 to 48 hours to show, so check again two days later.
- Summarize this month's review themes, yourself or with Gemini, then pick one complaint to fix.
- Compare the items reviewers praise most with how well they sell. Ask Kazeer AI "What sells best?" ("Apa yang paling laku?"), then map your menu the way the article on best sellers and the most profitable items shows.