Someone Googles "fastest plumber Lviv". Google shows a name, a contact, and sometimes a few reviews - right there. No website visit. That person is your client. And you have no idea how they made their decision.
The old rule was simple: get to the top of Google - the client finds you, opens your site, reads it, gets in touch. That still works. Just not for every search.
Try it right now. Google "best" or "cheapest", then add your service and your city. An "AI Overview" appears - 3 to 4 businesses with addresses, descriptions, and links. The client doesn't scroll through twenty options. They pick from the few Google suggested. If you're not there, you don't exist for that search.
How Google decides who to recommend in AI overview
Imagine a market where buyers used to walk the stalls and pick a shop themselves. Now there's someone standing at the entrance - and most buyers stop there. Because this person answers questions and recommends specific shops instead of letting everyone in.
If your shop didn't give them a fresh price list, photos, and customer reviews - they send the buyer to your neighbor. Your Google Business Profile is the information you hand to that person at the door.
An inactive profile used to mean you didn't rank high - but you were still on the list. Now it affects whether the "AI Overview" mentions you at all - the part people read instead of scrolling through search results. Not maintaining your profile now means not existing for a portion of search. And that portion grows every month.