Let us imagine a customer standing on a corner in Kitsilano, phone in hand, asking Siri for a hair salon that is open now. The answer arrives with a map, a phone number and the hours. Where did those hours come from? If the salon owner claimed the listing, they came from the owner. If not, they came from Apple's own data, with nobody from the salon checking them.
Many owners have set up a Google Business Profile. Apple has its own version for Apple Maps, and in 2026 its name changed. So let us look at what Apple offers today, how to claim your place, and what you can put on it, using only Apple's own pages.
What happened to Apple Business Connect?
Until April 2026, Apple's tool for business listings on Maps was called Apple Business Connect. In March 2026 Apple announced a single service, Apple Business, and it became available on 14 April 2026 "in more than 200 countries and regions." Apple was clear about the old tools: "Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect will no longer be available once Apple Business launches."
If you had already claimed your place with Business Connect, Apple said the existing data, "including claimed locations, place card information, photos", would "automatically migrate to Apple Business at launch." If you never claimed your place, Apple Business is where you start now. The service is free.
Why should a local business care about Apple Maps?
On an iPhone, Apple Maps is Apple's own maps app, and Siri is Apple's voice assistant. Apple says Apple Business helps companies "connect with local customers across Apple Maps, Mail, Wallet, Siri, and more." That is the whole reason. A person on an iPhone who uses Apple Maps sees your hours, your phone number and your photos there, and those come from your place card.
What does a place card show? Apple's help page on locations says that when customers find your location in Maps, or receive your location shared by another person, they see a place card with details your organization chose: the name, the logo, a cover photo, the hours and more.
If this card is wrong, customers call a number that no longer works, or arrive when you are closed.
How do you sign up for Apple Business?
You start by creating the organization. Apple's sign-up page asks for the name of your organization, the website address and the location and address of the organization, and then your own details.
There is one choice to make early. Apple lets you create a Managed Apple Account, which gives access to every feature of Apple Business, including the tools for company devices. Or you can continue with your personal Apple Account, which gives access to the brand and location features only. For a shop that only wants to manage its Maps listing, the second is enough. For a company that also manages staff iPhones and Macs, the first makes more sense.
How does Apple verify a business?
This step has a deadline, so read it twice. Apple asks for "two methods of verification" within 60 days. The options on Apple's page are:
| Verification method | What it means | |---|---| | Business ID | A D-U-N-S Number or an Employer Identification Number (EIN) | | Domain | A check through your domain's DNS records, the public settings behind your web address | | App Store Connect | For organizations that already publish apps with Apple | | Official documents | A business licence, a lease, a utility bill and similar papers |
Apple says the review "can take up to five business days to complete. During periods of high volume, additional time may be necessary." And then comes the sentence that deserves a note in the calendar: "If your organization isn't approved during the verification window, your organization, data, and Managed Apple Accounts are deleted."
So the practical rule is simple. Start verification the same day you sign up.
How do you add or claim your location?
Once you are signed in, Apple's guide takes you to Brands, then Locations, then the Add button. You search for your business. If it already exists on Maps, you select it. If it does not, you create it.
Apple then asks for the details of the location: the name, the address (with a marker you can move on the map), the default language, the primary category, the phone number, the status and the hours. The status is either Open or Opening Soon, and for a business that is about to open, the opening date can be at most six months away. A website or a social media link is optional, but naturally you should add it.
The Opening Soon status is useful for a new shop. Let us say you sign a lease in October and plan to open in January: you can create the location now with the status Opening Soon and the January date, instead of waiting for opening day. Apple's page also notes that categories "are updated regularly", so check once a year that your primary category is still the closest match to what you do.
For a location that already exists, Apple offers a quick path. You can "verify with a phone call", and Apple's page explains that "the phone number being used is the one that Apple has on record for this location." If the number on record is old, the call goes nowhere. Apple's advice in that case: "If you don't recognize this number, contact Apple Business support."
And if somebody else, perhaps a former employee or a previous agency, already manages the location? You request a transfer, and you may attach "supporting documentation, such as a business licence or utility bill." Apple says that review can take up to five business days.
A small tip from the same page: write the name exactly as it appears on your sign, and use the same address and phone number you use on Google and in directories. The same details everywhere help every map service trust them. We cover that clean-up in fixing business listings that are wrong online.
What can you put on your place card?
Here Apple Business goes further than many owners expect. From Apple's announcement and help pages:
Photos and details. You can customize the place card "with photos, detailed location information, hours, and other useful details." If you have several locations, brand information such as the name, logo and cover photo can apply to all of them, while each location can still have its own cover photo. Apple says the same tools work "whether your organization has 1 location or 1000."
Showcases. A showcase is a section on the place card where you can "highlight deals, special offers, new products, or seasonal items." A showcase can also carry an action, a button the customer taps.
Custom actions. Apple describes these as a way to "add custom actions like order or reserve to direct customers to a preferred website or app."
Insights. Apple says businesses can see "how customers discover and interact with businesses on Maps, including search, views, and taps on actions."
Apple's announcement also mentions Branded Mail, which shows your brand in the Mail app, and Tap to Pay branding on the payment screen. And it announced ads on Maps, "beginning this summer in the U.S. and Canada." Those are extras. The place card is where every business should begin.
What happens when a customer reports a problem?
Customers can report mistakes to Apple directly from your place card. Apple's help page gives the example plainly: "If your place card states a location is open and your customer finds your location is closed, they can report this issue to Apple directly from your place card." Apple reviews these reports, and when your name, status or hours are changed, Apple sends an email to the people who manage the location.
This is one more reason to claim the card. When you receive that email, you can check the change and correct it. If you have never claimed the location, nobody at your business receives it.
When you change your name yourself, Apple reviews it too. The help page says "the review process can take up to five business days." If Apple does not approve the new name, you can accept the name Apple suggests or send another one for review.
How does Apple Maps fit with Google and the rest?
The truth is that Apple Maps is one listing among several, and the work is the same everywhere: the right name, address, phone and hours, and good photos. If your Google profile is not in order yet, start there with our Google Business Profile setup guide, then copy the same details into Apple Business the same afternoon.
How can Licheo help?
Licheo does the website, search and AI work that big companies pay whole teams for, done for your small business, and that includes listings on Apple Maps, Google and Bing. If you want to see first how your website looks to search engines and AI assistants, the free Get Found Check reads your homepage, your domain's DNS records and your security certificate, and returns a grade in under 60 seconds.
Sources
- Introducing Apple Business: a new all-in-one platform for businesses of all sizes, Apple Newsroom, 24 March 2026, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Sign up for Apple Business, Apple Support, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Add a location in Apple Business, Apple Support, accessed 29 September 2026.
- About locations in Apple Business, Apple Support, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Maintain location information accuracy with Apple Business, Apple Support, accessed 29 September 2026.
- Apple Business, Apple, accessed 29 September 2026.