Why Does a Google AI Overview Replace My Google Business Profile Description in Search?
Because Google is testing AI Overviews inside local knowledge panels. Since mid-September 2026, some searches for a business by name show an "AI Overview" label at the top of the Business Profile panel. Beneath it sits a description written by Google's AI, and a "Show more" button opens a follow-up chat in the style of AI Mode. The text draws on your profile, your website, reviews and other sources, so it can differ from the description you wrote. It can also repeat outdated information. Google has not announced the feature, and there is no setting to turn it off. You cannot remove it, but you can influence what it says by fixing the sources it reads and reporting errors.
What exactly is Google showing?
Search Engine Roundtable reported on 17 September 2026 that Google is turning local knowledge panels, the Business Profile shown when someone searches a business by name, into an AI Overview listing. The panel carries an "AI Overview" label above an AI-generated description of the business. A "Show more" button expands it into a conversational, AI Mode-style interface where the searcher can ask follow-up questions. The editor was able to reproduce it after a local search consultant shared it, and found that part of the description of his own company was out of date, because the company website was.
Google has not announced this, so it is a test and may not appear for every business, searcher or device. It follows earlier changes in local search: AI Overviews appearing for some local queries in place of the usual local pack, and AI-written summaries of places in Google Maps.
Where does the AI description come from?
Google does not publish the exact sources for this test, but its other AI features give strong clues:
- Your Business Profile. Google's help page for AI-suggested descriptions says they are based on information in your Business Profile and other sources, such as your website.
- Your website. In the reported test, outdated website content surfaced in the description.
- Reviews and other data. Google's developer documentation for AI-powered place summaries says they aggregate many types of data into a short overview, and label them "Summarized with Gemini."
- Other pages about you, such as directories, news and review sites, which AI Overviews routinely draw on.
The result is Google's interpretation of your business, not your own words. Your written description becomes one input among several.
Is this the same as the AI-suggested description in my dashboard?
No. It helps to separate three things:
| Who writes it | Who approves it | Where it appears | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your business description | You | You, subject to Google's guidelines | Your Business Profile |
| AI-suggested description | Google's AI, when you click "Suggest description" | You review and edit before saving | Your Business Profile, once saved |
| AI Overview in the panel | Google's AI, from several sources | Nobody at your business | Above your profile in search, during the test |
The dashboard tool is optional and under your control. Google's help page says it writes creative text, should be reviewed for accuracy, and is available only in some regions and languages. The AI Overview in the panel is not something you approve.
Can I turn it off?
Not for your Business Profile. Answers on Google's Business Profile community forum say there is no setting that lets owners turn off AI-generated summaries of their business. Search Console has a separate control that excludes a website from AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative features in Discover. It governs how your site's content is used and shown in those features, not your Business Profile, and excluding your site removes its links from all AI Overviews. That trade-off rarely makes sense for a local business. Google also documents page-level controls such as nosnippet and data-nosnippet that limit what can be shown from a page, but they are blunt tools. More on the control and its effects is in why your brand might be missing from AI Overviews.
Why would the description be wrong?
Usually because a source it reads is wrong or old. Common causes:
- Outdated website pages, such as an About page describing services you no longer offer.
- Old reviews mentioning a previous owner, location or menu.
- Directory listings with an old address, phone number or category.
- Vague categories and services on the profile, which leave the AI to guess.
- Mixed signals between your profile, website and third-party pages.
Wrong prices, competitors and details in AI Overviews more generally are covered in why Google AI Overviews get business details wrong.
What can I do to influence it?
Work on the sources, starting with the ones you control:
- Complete your Business Profile: primary and secondary categories, services, products, attributes, hours and a clear, current description in your own words.
- Rewrite your website's About and home page openings so the first two sentences say plainly what you do, where, and for whom.
- Remove or update old pages that describe discontinued services or old locations.
- Correct directory listings on the main local directories and data aggregators.
- Keep asking every customer for an honest review, since recent review themes feed summaries.
- Keep facts consistent everywhere: name, address, phone, services and opening hours.
Profile optimisation for AI search is covered in depth in how to optimise Google Business Profile for local AI search visibility.
How do I report an inaccurate AI Overview?
Use the feedback option on the AI Overview itself, and describe the specific error. If the error comes from your Business Profile data, such as wrong hours or services, fix it in the profile. If it comes from a third-party page, ask that site to correct it. Google's developer documentation for place summaries includes a link for flagging problems, which shows Google expects errors and collects reports. Keep screenshots with dates, since a test can change or disappear.
How should I monitor it?
Search your business name each month in a private browser window, on desktop and mobile, and from a location near your business. Record whether the AI Overview label appears, what the description says, and which sources are linked. Compare it with your own description and note any claim you did not make. If several locations are involved, check each one, since the sources differ by location.
What might this look like in practice?
Consider an illustrative physiotherapy clinic, Wembquay Physio, that stopped offering sports massage in 2025. A search for its name showed an AI Overview describing it as "a sports massage and physiotherapy clinic." The clinic's website still had a 2023 sports massage page, and several older reviews praised the massage service. The clinic removed the old page, updated its About page and profile services to list its current treatments, and began asking every patient for an honest review in their own words. It also sent feedback on the AI Overview. Over the following weeks, its monthly check showed the description dropping the massage reference.
What do people ask about AI Overviews on Business Profiles?
Is Google replacing my business description permanently?
Google has not announced it. It appears to be a test shown for some searches.
Can I edit the AI Overview?
No. You can only change the sources it draws on and send feedback.
Does my own description still matter?
Yes. It is one of the sources Google's AI uses, and it still appears on your profile.
Should I use Google's AI-suggested description?
Only if you review and edit it. Google says it writes creative text and should be checked for accuracy.
Published by The Kovmere Team · updated Sep 29, 2026 · More resources