Google Business Profile API in 2026: Access, Official Docs & What's Deprecated

The Google Business Profile API is still active in 2026 — but finding your way around it is genuinely confusing. Google retired the old monolithic My Business API in April 2022 and replaced it with five separate purpose-built APIs. They are all live and actively maintained as of May 2026. The problem: they are scattered across different endpoint domains, version numbers, and documentation pages. This guide maps every active API, the exact endpoints for reviews, posts, photos, and performance metrics, and what is deprecated — so you do not have to piece it together yourself.

A Brief History: From My Business API to Business Profile API

For years, developers managed Google Business Profile through a single API called the Google My Business API (GMB API, v4.9). In 2021, Google announced it was moving to a federated model: rather than one giant API covering everything, each function would get its own dedicated endpoint and versioning. The rationale was greater API consumption flexibility and the ability to ship product updates to individual endpoints without disrupting others.

Deprecation of GMB API v4.9 resources began in November 2021 across most resource types, with a full sunset date of April 30, 2022. After that date, legacy endpoints were not just deprecated — they were removed. Any integration still calling accounts.locations.reviews or accounts.locations.localPosts stopped working entirely.

The naming has also shifted, which creates real confusion. What developers still search for as the "Google My Business API" or "GMB API" is now officially called the Business Profile APIs (plural). Confusingly, the underlying endpoint domains still contain mybusiness.googleapis.com — but the product name on Google's developer portal is Business Profile APIs. Many tutorials and Stack Overflow answers written before 2022 still reference the old API structure, so always check the publication date of anything you're reading.

For context on what else has changed on the platform in 2026, see our guide to Google Business Profile updates in 2026.

Official Documentation: Where to Find It in 2026

All Business Profile API documentation is hosted under Google for Developers. The canonical starting point is:

• Business Profile APIs overviewview official overview

From there, bookmark these key pages:

• Prerequisites & access request → prerequisites and access request guide — requirements to get your project's quota raised from zero.
• Basic setup & OAuth 2.0 → basic setup and OAuth 2.0 guide — covers the eight APIs you need to enable in Google Cloud Console, REST basics, and JSON format.
• Deprecation schedule → deprecation schedule page — authoritative list of what is deprecated, what is sunset, and replacement resources.
• Change log → official API change log — last updated April 2026. New features, breaking changes, and ID format migrations all appear here first.
• FAQ → API FAQ and policies page — covers access policies, quota behaviour, and prohibited uses.

One critical note on access: the Business Profile APIs are not open by default. New Google Cloud projects start with zero quota for these APIs. You must submit a formal access request, demonstrate a legitimate business use case (managing your own or clients' locations), have a verified GBP that's been active for 60+ days, and provide a valid business website. Once approved, Google raises your quota and you can start making authenticated calls via OAuth 2.0.

How to Get Google Business Profile API Access Approved in 2026

Before you can call any of the endpoints above, you need approved access. This is the step that trips up most developers: the Business Profile APIs are not open by default, and Google reviews every request manually. Here is exactly how the process works in 2026, how long it takes, and the reasons requests get rejected.

Step 1 — Create a Google Cloud project and enable the APIs

In the Google Cloud Console, create or select a project and enable the specific Business Profile APIs you need (for example the My Business Account Management API and My Business Business Information API). Each API is enabled separately. Then configure an OAuth 2.0 consent screen and credentials requesting the https://www.googleapis.com/auth/business.manage scope — the single scope all Business Profile APIs share.

Step 2 — Submit the Business Profile API access request form

Enabling the APIs is not enough. By default your project is granted a base quota of zero requests per minute, so every call returns a quota error until Google approves you. You request access — and quota — through the official Business Profile API access request form, linked from Google's “Basic setup / Request access” documentation. You provide your GCP project number, contact details, your business use case, and the scopes you need.

Google reviews submissions manually. Approval typically takes anywhere from a few days to a few weeks — there is no instant approval. You receive an email once your project is approved and your quota is raised above zero.

Step 3 — Avoid the common reasons access requests get rejected

• Vague use case — “I want to manage my business” is too thin. Describe the specific product, who uses it, and which endpoints you call.
• Mismatched project — the GCP project number on the form must be the same project where you enabled the APIs and created OAuth credentials.
• Requesting scopes you don't use — only request business.manage if you genuinely manage profiles you or your clients own.
• No working OAuth setup — configure your consent screen before you apply; Google may verify the project is set up correctly.

Once approved you start with a modest quota (requests-per-minute and per-day). If you need more, you submit a separate quota-increase request through the same channel, justifying the expected volume.

If your goal is tracking local rankings or managing many profiles rather than building a custom integration, you may not need direct API access at all — a managed tool handles the API plumbing, OAuth, and quota for you.

Which Endpoints Are Still Active?

In the federated model, each function has its own API, base URL, and versioning. Here is the full active lineup as of May 2026, based on live documentation:

1. My Business Account Management API

• Base URL: mybusinessaccountmanagement.googleapis.com/v1
• Purpose: Manage Google Business accounts, admin users, and location-level permissions across multiple accounts. Supports account listing, admin invitations, and location group management.
• Replaces: accounts, accounts.admins, accounts.invitations from GMB v4.9.

2. My Business Business Information API

• Base URL: mybusinessbusinessinformation.googleapis.com/v1
• Purpose: Core location data — name/title, address, phone numbers, categories, opening hours, special hours, and attributes like accessibility or payment options.
• Key field changes from v4.9: locationName is now title; phone data lives in a dedicated PhoneNumbers object; the Attributes object now includes a getGoogleUpdated endpoint to see Google-suggested changes.

3. Reviews API

• Base URL: mybusiness.googleapis.com/v4
• Status: Active

Capabilities:

• List all reviews for a location, with pagination.
• Retrieve individual reviews — star rating, comment text, reviewer name.
• Reply to reviews and delete existing replies programmatically.
• Access review media items (photos attached to reviews).
• Track review reply status across locations — critical for agency dashboards managing multiple clients.

This is the endpoint most agencies use daily for reputation management automation. It remains one of the most stable parts of the API suite.

4. Local Posts API

• Base URL: mybusiness.googleapis.com/v4
• Status: Active

Capabilities:

• Standard update posts, event posts, and offer posts.
• Recurring posts — added in a recent update, allowing automated posting schedules without creating new entries manually each time.
• Post metrics (views, clicks) accessible via the Performance API (see below).

5. Business Profile Performance API

• Base URL: businessprofileperformance.googleapis.com/v1
• Status: Active and updated (October 2024).
• Key method: locations.fetchMultiDailyMetricsTimeSeries — fetch multiple daily performance metrics (search impressions, map views, website clicks, call clicks, direction requests) in a single API call. This replaced the older single-metric methods from v4.

6. My Business Verifications API

• Base URL: mybusinessverifications.googleapis.com/v1
• Purpose: Initiate location verification flows (postcard, video, phone, email), check verification status, and check voice-of-merchant (VOM) status — whether a location has claimed authority over its listing.

7. Place Actions API

• Base URL: mybusinessplaceactions.googleapis.com/v1
• Purpose: Manage place action links attached to a location — booking buttons, reservation links, food ordering links, and more. These appear in the Knowledge Panel.

8. My Business Notifications API

• Base URL: mybusinessnotifications.googleapis.com/v1
• Purpose: Configure Pub/Sub notification settings for accounts — receive real-time alerts for new reviews, Google-suggested edits, and other profile events without polling.

What's Been Deprecated

The following APIs or endpoints are no longer available or are in the process of being removed:

Google My Business API v4.9 — Fully Sunset April 30, 2022

Every resource in the old monolithic GMB API was removed. This includes accounts.locations, accounts.locations.reviews, accounts.locations.localPosts, accounts.locations.questions, and accounts.locations.admins. There is no backwards-compatible mode — these endpoints return errors. All functionality lives in the federated APIs described above.

My Business Business Calls API — Deprecated May 30, 2023

This API provided programmatic access to call insights — missed call counts, call durations, and call attribution for locations. It was deprecated and removed. If you relied on it, the only path now is the Business Profile UI to manage call history settings. No direct API replacement has been announced.

Q&A API — Shut Down November 3, 2025

This is the most significant recent deprecation. Google shut down the Q&A API in November 2025, citing a shift toward AI-powered question answering through Ask Maps and Gemini AI Overviews. The public Q&A feature on Business Profile listings is also being gradually removed. For the full picture on what this means, see our post on the Q&A feature removal.

Legacy Performance Methods (v4) — Replaced

The older single-metric performance methods from v4 — including locations.getDailyMetricsTimeSeries — were replaced by the new fetchMultiDailyMetricsTimeSeries method in the Business Profile Performance API. If you're still using v4 performance calls, migrate to the new method to avoid disruptions.

HealthProviderAttributes Methods — Deprecated June 17, 2024

The accounts.locations.HealthProviderAttributes methods were deprecated in June 2024 along with certain health-specific Business Information API endpoints. Check the deprecation schedule for the current replacement guidance.

Google does not always send proactive notifications to affected developers when something is deprecated. The most reliable approach is to subscribe to the change log and set a calendar reminder to review the deprecation schedule quarterly.

Managing GBP at Scale Without Getting Lost in the API

For agencies and multi-location brands, the Business Profile APIs unlock real leverage: automating review responses across hundreds of locations, syncing business information changes without manual edits, scheduling posts programmatically, and pulling performance data into your own reporting dashboards. That's exactly what SlashPost is built to do.

But getting there from a raw API integration is not trivial. The approval process through Google Cloud Console takes time — sometimes weeks. The federated model means you're juggling eight separate APIs with different base URLs, OAuth scopes, and rate limits. Google's documentation is dense and written primarily for engineers with API experience, not for agency owners who want to build a workflow.

Agencies typically face two paths:

1. Direct API integration: Maximum control and flexibility. Requires engineering resources to handle OAuth token management, quota monitoring, rate limit retries, error handling across eight endpoints, and ongoing maintenance every time Google deprecates a method. Worth it if you're building a product on top of GBP or have bespoke requirements.
2. Managed integration layer (e.g., SlashPost): Abstracts the API surface into a clean workflow interface. Publish posts, manage reviews, sync location data, and access performance metrics without writing authentication code or managing API keys. The same underlying Google data — without the infrastructure overhead.

For a full comparison of tools available for multi-location GBP management, see our breakdown of local SEO management tools compared. And if you're working on optimising your GBP listings alongside any API work, read our guide on how to optimize your Google Business Profile.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Google Business Profile API still active in 2026?

Yes. The Business Profile APIs are fully active and maintained as of May 2026. The documentation was last updated in April 2026. What changed in 2022 was the architecture — from one monolithic GMB API to a federated set of purpose-specific APIs — not the availability of the functionality. Reviews, Local Posts, Business Information, Account Management, Performance, Verifications, Place Actions, and Notifications are all still accessible via API.

What replaced the Google My Business API?

The old GMB API v4.9 was replaced by a suite of eight Business Profile APIs, each with its own base URL: Account Management API, Business Information API, Reviews API (via mybusiness.googleapis.com/v4), Local Posts API, Business Profile Performance API, Verifications API, Place Actions API, and Notifications API. Collectively, they provide the same capabilities as the old GMB API — and more.

Where is the official Google Business Profile API documentation?

Start at the official Business Profile API documentation on Google for Developers. From there you can navigate to reference documentation for each individual API. The prerequisites page (prerequisites page) is the right starting point if you're setting up a new integration.

Is the Google Business Profile API free?

Yes, the APIs are free to use — there is no per-call billing. The main constraint is access approval and quota. Every new Google Cloud project starts with zero quota for the Business Profile APIs. You must submit a formal access request via Google Cloud Console, demonstrate a legitimate business use case, have a verified GBP active for 60+ days, and provide a valid business website. Once approved, your project quota is raised and calls are free.

Does the Google Business Profile API support reviews?

Yes. The Reviews API (mybusiness.googleapis.com/v4) is fully active in 2026. You can list reviews across multiple locations, retrieve individual reviews with rating and comment data, reply to reviews programmatically, delete review replies, access review media items, and track reply status — all via API. Note that writing fake or incentivised reviews via the API violates Google's policies and can result in suspension.

Does the API support Local Posts?

Yes. The Local Posts API is active and supports standard posts, event posts, offer posts, and (as of a recent update) recurring posts. This makes it possible to maintain a consistent publishing schedule across hundreds of locations without manual effort. Post performance data (impressions, clicks) is accessible via the Business Profile Performance API.

What happened to the Google Business Profile Q&A API?

The Q&A API was shut down on November 3, 2025. Google is transitioning question-answering to AI-powered features (Ask Maps and Gemini AI Overviews) rather than a user-maintained Q&A section. The Q&A feature itself is also being gradually removed from Business Profile listings. No replacement API for Q&A has been announced as of May 2026. For the full story, see our post on the Q&A feature removal.

How do I get access to the Business Profile APIs?

Follow Google's prerequisites guide. You'll need a Google Cloud project, a verified and active GBP (60+ days old), a valid business website URL, and a clear description of your use case. Submit the access request form. Approval is not instant — it typically takes several days to weeks. Once approved, enable all eight APIs in your Google Cloud Console and set up OAuth 2.0 for authentication.

What Does GBP API Management Cost?

If you are evaluating what a professional GBP management or local SEO engagement should cost, see our breakdown of local SEO packages, pricing tiers, and red flags.