The coronavirus outbreak has not only thrown the life out of the balance in India but has also severely impacted various businesses and industries. And the 21-day lockdown announced by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has added to the worries of all. With so many disruptions to daily life, people are constantly looking for more information about school and business closures.
So, to help users get the right information is more important than ever in the face of the global pandemic. Google in a new update now allows businesses to easily mark themselves as ‘temporarily closed’ using Google My Business. Earlier, Google used data from governments and other authoritative sources to mark a business as closed.
‘We’re also using our artificial intelligence (AI) technology Duplex where possible to contact businesses to confirm their updated business hours, so we can reflect them accurately when people are looking on Search and Maps,’ Google CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post.
Available on both Google Search and Maps, the feature will now display if a place, like a school or a local business, is temporarily closed. If your business temporarily closes or is seasonal, you can mark it on the app to update your customers.
Here is how to make your profile appear as temporarily closed on Google Maps and Search:
And if you have multiple profiles, select the profile you want to change then follow steps 2 and 3 above to mark your businesses as temporarily closed.
You can also use ‘special hours’ feature to keep your customers up to date if you have temporarily adjusted hours for your business.
