Why Law Firms Should Turn On Google Business Profile Messaging (and Who Should Staff It)

14 September 2026·6 min read

Quick answer: Turning on Google Business Profile messaging lets people who are already looking at your firm on Google send you a message instead of calling — but it only helps if a real person is actually checking it, ideally with a plan for after hours. If nobody's assigned to answer it, don't turn it on yet; a message that sits unread for two days looks worse to a prospective client than no chat option at all. 📱

Most law firms treat Google Business Profile messaging as a checkbox — a little toggle Google keeps nudging you to switch on, so you switch it on, and then forget it exists. We get why: nobody wants another inbox. But here's the thing — a decent chunk of people comparing two or three local firms on Google right now would rather send a quick message than pick up the phone, especially outside business hours, or when they're still working out whether their situation is even "a lawyer thing" 💖. If your profile has messaging on and the firm two listings down doesn't, you're the easier option — as long as someone actually replies.

What most firms get wrong: turning it on and walking away

The toggle is the easy part. The problem is what happens next. Messages land in the Google Business Profile app or the web dashboard — a place most reception staff don't have open, and most practice management systems don't talk to. So messages get missed, sometimes for days. Google also displays a public response time on your profile ("Typically responds within a few hours" vs "a few days"), which anyone browsing can see before they've even messaged you — a stale response badge actively undersells a firm that's otherwise doing everything right.

The other mistake is treating chat like a secure, verified channel. It isn't. We've seen well-meaning staff give specific, situation-based guidance over Google Messages to someone who hasn't been identity-checked or engaged as a client — which is a confidentiality and conduct risk, not just a customer service one.

The GBP Messaging Setup & Reply Playbook

Assign an owner, plus a backup. Name a real person (and who covers them when they're out) responsible for checking messages at least twice a day.
Set a welcome message in your Business Profile settings, e.g.: "Thanks for messaging [Firm Name]. We usually reply within business hours. For anything urgent, please call us on [number]."
Have three canned replies ready to adapt, not send verbatim:
— General enquiry: "Thanks for reaching out — could you tell us a bit more about what you need help with, so we can point you to the right person?"
— After-hours: "Thanks for your message — our office is closed right now, but we'll get back to you first thing [next business day]."
— Fee/price question: "Happy to help — costs depend on [factor]. As a general guide, [service] typically starts from around $[range]. Want us to call you to scope it properly?"
Set a response target. Same business day is realistic for most firms. If you can't hit that consistently, turn messaging off rather than let the public badge say otherwise.
Check your Business Profile performance stats weekly for response rate and time, and note any missed messages so you can fix the gap, not just the individual miss.

A two-partner suburban general practice firm: turned on messaging, but nobody was specifically responsible for it — it just sat in an app on the office manager's phone. A conveyancing enquiry came in at 9pm from someone comparing three local firms; it wasn't seen until the next afternoon, by which point they'd instructed someone else. After that, the office manager was given explicit ownership (check first thing and after lunch), an after-hours reply was added, and a "how did you hear about us" question was added to the intake form — messaging now accounts for roughly one new enquiry a fortnight that would otherwise have gone elsewhere.

A family law firm: doesn't want case-specific detail going back and forth over an unverified, unsecured channel — especially from someone who might not even be their eventual client. Their canned reply is deliberately narrow: "Thanks for reaching out. Because these conversations are sensitive, we'd rather speak with you directly and confidentially — can we call you on a safe number, at a time that suits you?" The message channel is used purely to book a private callback, never to discuss anything substantive.

A small conveyancing practice: was getting the same message over and over — "how much for a standard contract review?" — and either ignoring it (looked unresponsive) or typing a long individual reply each time (slow). A canned reply now gives a banded price range and explains cost depends on property type, then invites a quick call to scope it properly. Enquiries that used to go quiet now convert at a similar rate to phone enquiries.

How to actually set it up

Search your firm on Google (or open the Google Business Profile app), find the "Messages" option, and turn it on.
Connect notifications to a phone or email your assigned person actually checks — don't leave it buried in an app nobody opens.
Write your welcome message and canned replies before you switch it on, not after the first message arrives.
If it becomes unmanageable (holiday periods, staff turnover), it's fine to turn it off temporarily rather than let response times blow out publicly.

💡 The technology isn't the lever — the habit is. A recurring calendar reminder to check messages twice a day will do more for your response rate than any setting inside Google Business Profile itself.

Turning on messaging without assigning anyone to own it
Letting Google's public "response time" badge go stale — it's visible to everyone browsing your profile
Giving specific legal advice over an unverified chat channel before confirming who you're actually talking to
Not tracking which enquiries come through messaging, so you can't tell if it's actually working
Leaving it switched on for months after it's stopped being checked properly

Frequently asked questions

Does Google Business Profile messaging help our search ranking?

Not directly, as far as anyone can reliably verify — there's no solid evidence that chat engagement itself is a ranking factor. The real benefit is converting people who are already looking at your profile, not moving you up the map pack. If someone pitches it to you as an SEO tactic, take that with a grain of salt.

What if we get spam or irrelevant messages?

It happens occasionally. You can mute individual conversations, and a canned first reply asking what they need help with tends to filter out a lot of it naturally.

Should we leave messaging on after hours if nobody's watching it overnight?

Yes, generally — as long as your welcome message sets an honest expectation about when you'll reply. A visible chat option with a clear "we'll get back to you tomorrow" beats no option at all.

Can non-lawyer staff manage the messaging?

Yes, for initial triage, booking callbacks and general information — but they need clear boundaries on what they can and can't say, and anything resembling advice on someone's specific situation should be redirected to a proper conversation with a lawyer, not typed out in chat.

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Written by

Kate, founder of Chronically Online

I help Gold Coast and Brisbane businesses grow with branding, websites and marketing that actually works.

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