Open your Business Profile, choose Edit profile, then Contact, and paste your WhatsApp click to chat link (https://wa.me/ plus your full number) next to Chat. Google offers chat only in select regions and only on claimed, verified profiles. If the Chat field is missing, put the same link on your website and booking page instead.
Who can add a chat button
Google does not publish a list of countries. Its help page says chat options are currently available for select regions and might not be available for your profile. The profile must also be claimed and verified before you look for the option.
Google offers two chat types: WhatsApp and Text message. Google says that if you add both, customers only see the text message option. Pick the one your team actually answers.
The link Google needs
For WhatsApp, Google asks for your WhatsApp click to chat URL. Google's own developer documentation shows it as https://wa.me/ followed by your full phone number in international format. For text messages, you enter a phone number that can receive texts.
https://wa.me/910000000000
WhatsApp's click to chat links can also carry a ready-made first message, which saves customers typing. Add text= and the message, with spaces written as %20. Use this version on your website and booking page. On your Business Profile, paste the plain link in the format Google shows.
https://wa.me/910000000000?text=Hi%2C%20I%20would%20like%20to%20book%20an%20appointment
Add the chat button
- Open your Business Profile.
- Select Edit profile, then Contact.
- Next to Chat, select Edit.
- Open the drop-down and choose WhatsApp or Text message.
- Enter your WhatsApp click to chat URL, or a phone number that can receive text messages.
- Select Save.
If Chat is not offered for your profile
You can still make WhatsApp easy to find for people who reach you through Google:
- Put your WhatsApp link in the contact section of your website, which your profile already links to.
- Add it to your booking page and confirmation messages, so customers can ask questions before they arrive.
Answer quickly
A chat button only helps if someone answers. Decide who reads chats, turn on notifications on that phone, and keep saved replies for prices, hours and directions. Google says chat activity shows in your performance report, so you can see whether the button is used.
Common problems
- Why is there no Chat option under Contact?
- Google says chat is only offered in select regions and only for claimed and verified profiles. If your profile is verified and you still see no Chat field, the option is not offered for it. Use the website and booking page instead.
- I added WhatsApp and a texting number, but customers only see text.
- That is how Google says it works: when both are added, only the text message option shows. Remove the texting number if you want customers to see WhatsApp.
- The chat button opens the wrong number.
- Check the link you saved. Open it on a phone, and if it starts a chat with a different number, edit Chat again and paste the correct click to chat URL.
- Can several branches use one WhatsApp number?
- Yes. Google says multiple profiles can use the same WhatsApp link. Make sure whoever answers asks which branch the customer means.
Keep the WhatsApp link right from one place
With Reach
In Reach, the Contact section of your profile has a WhatsApp number field and a separate texting number field. Type the number with its country code and save. Reach turns it into a wa.me link and sends it to Google as your profile's WhatsApp chat link.
After you save, Reach lists which fields reached Google and which Google refused. Reach cannot switch on chat where Google does not offer it, so if Google refuses the WhatsApp field, use the website fallback above.