Google My Business has posted about a new pilot program in their help documents that allows some businesses to chat with their customers directly via the local knowledge graph panel. Google said that “Google My Business allows you to chat directly with customers who find your business listing on Google Search.”

The new “message” button has been added to your local listing on Google if you are in this test group. The message button will initiate a chat between your business through the businesses’ SMS number or via Google Allo and the searcher.

Some businesses received emails “inviting you to participate in the pilot.” If you have not been invited, then you will not have access to this feature while it is being tested.

Here is a screen shot of the message button in the dashboard on Google:

google-my-business-messaging

If you would like more details on this test feature, please check out the Google help document.