What Apple Business Connect was, and what took its place
Apple Business Connect was a free tool, introduced January 11, 2023, that let businesses claim and edit their place cards. A place card is the panel that appears when someone taps a business in Apple Maps. Business Connect no longer exists as a separate product.
Its replacement is Apple Business, launched April 14, 2026. Apple Business absorbed three older services at once: Business Essentials, Business Manager and Business Connect. Data from Business Connect migrated without any action from owners.
The name changed, but the core job did not. Owners still claim locations, verify the business and manage place cards. The core service is still free.
Business Connect was itself a successor. Apple Maps Connect, introduced October 2014, let small businesses claim listings and edit location and hours with an Apple ID. Each step widened what an owner could control.
When Business Connect arrived in 2023, Apple put its audience at more than a billion users. Those users were spread over Maps, Messages, Wallet, Siri and other Apple apps. Today the Apple Business place card shows in Maps, in Safari and in Spotlight search.
Steps for an owner moving from Business Connect to Apple Business
An owner who used Business Connect follows a short sequence to pick up where they left off in Apple Business. Nothing has to be rebuilt, because the data migrated automatically. The work is mostly checking, then using the newer tools.
- Sign in at business.apple.com. This address is now the home for what Business Connect used to do. Old bookmarks for Business Connect should be replaced.
- Confirm the organization carried over. The business record, its verification and its claimed locations should all appear. Any gap is worth raising with Apple before making edits.
- Review each location’s place card. Check name, hours, phone, photos and logo against reality. A card may carry photos, a logo, special promotions and buttons that let customers order or reserve.
- Add locations that were never claimed. New sites start under Brands, then Locations, then Add single location. An existing location may verify by a phone call to the number Apple holds, with a four-digit code.
- Set up offers where available. Apple Business Showcases are a place card section for offers like seasonal items and discounts. Their own part of this series explains how they work.
- Check Insights. Insights is the reporting area, counting how often a card is searched for, viewed and tapped. A short look each month shows whether customers act on the card.
- Decide on the newer extras. Branded Mail, Business Caller ID and paid Maps ads all build on the same account. Each is optional.
Why the order of steps matters
Checking before editing avoids two problems. An owner who edits first may overwrite a correct record with a guess. An owner who skips the organization check may not notice a missing location until a customer complains.
Offers and Insights come late for a reason. Neither helps much while core details such as hours and phone are wrong. Accuracy first, extras second, is the simplest rule for the whole sequence.
Owners who never used Business Connect
A business new to Apple starts at step one and skips the migration checks. Apple verifies the business before it can claim any location. Businesses without a physical location, such as online or service firms, have been able to register since October 16, 2024.
Brands with many sites
Large brands rarely enter each site by hand. Apple named five listing partners in 2023 to push data to Maps at scale: Reputation, Rio SEO, SOCi, Uberall and Yext. They worked through the Business Connect API.
An API is a direct software link between two systems. The part of this series on multiple locations covers the tooling in more depth. How bulk handling works inside Apple Business today is not fully confirmed.
What decides how well the switch works for a business
The result of the move depends on how complete the old Business Connect record was and how actively the owner uses the new tools. Apple Business carries over data, not effort. A thin place card before the switch is still thin after it.
The quality of the migrated record
Automatic migration copies what was there. Outdated hours or an old phone number come across unchanged. A review of every location after the switch catches these.
Apple Maps also draws on outside data. Around twenty companies supply its points of interest, Yelp, Foursquare, TripAdvisor and Booking.com among them. An accurate claimed card is the version that comes straight from the owner.
Where the business operates
Feature availability varies by country and region. Showcases launched in the US first in 2023. A multi-country business may see different tools for different branches.
Which extras the owner turns on
Apple Business reaches beyond Maps. Branded Mail shows a business name and logo in customer emails. Business Caller ID shows name, logo and department on phone calls, with registration opening in 2025.
Tap to Pay on iPhone can show the business logo instead of a generic category icon. Each feature strengthens recognition at a different moment. The part of this series on Branded Mail and Caller ID explains both.
Whether the owner plans to advertise
Paid placement now sits alongside the free tools. Apple’s Maps ads begin rolling out in summer 2026, limited to iPhone and iPad users in the US and Canada. The workings of Apple Maps advertising have their own guide on this hub.
Ads depend on the free account. No campaign can start until the organization exists, the business is verified and its locations are claimed. A tidy migration is the groundwork for any ad plan.
Who in the business holds the account
Access matters more than many owners expect. A former manager or an outside agency may have set up Business Connect years ago. If that person still holds the login, the owner depends on them for every change.
Confirming who controls the account after the switch avoids that trap. Where control sits with the wrong person, a transfer request is the formal fix.
How often the numbers get read
Insights only help an owner who looks at them. Searches, views and taps on actions show how customers meet the card. The part of this series on Insights explains how to read them.
Mistakes owners make after the rename
Most mistakes after the switch come from treating the rename as a change in what the product does. The core job, cost and data stayed the same. The errors below are common and avoidable.
Searching for a Business Connect sign-up page
Business Connect is no longer a separate product. Owners should go to business.apple.com and use Apple Business. Guides written before April 14, 2026 still use the old name.
Assuming the account now costs money
The core service is free, as Business Connect was. Claiming locations and editing place cards carry no fee. Only advertising involves payment.
Starting a fresh account
Business Connect data migrated automatically. Opening a second account can create duplicate claims. Duplicates may lead to transfer requests, and a location transfer review can take up to five business days.
Expecting ads to lift the free listing
Maps ads are clearly marked and sit apart from the organic place card. Apple publishes no ranking factors for place cards in the sources behind this guide. Ads should be judged on their own results.
Ignoring regional differences
A tool visible for one branch may be missing for another. Feature availability varies by country and region. Owners should check each market rather than assume.
Leaving old details in place
Migration copies errors as faithfully as it copies facts. A post-switch audit of each location is quick. It prevents customers from calling a dead number.
Treating Apple’s data as Google’s
Apple builds its map from in-house sources, TomTom, OpenStreetMap and its roughly twenty place-data suppliers. A fix made in a Google Business Profile does not flow into Apple Maps. Each platform needs its own update.
Frequently asked questions
Is Apple business Connect worth it?
Apple Business Connect has been replaced by Apple Business, which is free at its core. It gives owners control of place cards that appear across Maps, Safari and Spotlight. With no fee, the main cost is the time spent keeping details accurate.
Do you have to pay for Apple business Connect?
No. Business Connect was free, and its replacement, Apple Business, keeps the core service free. Payment applies only to optional Maps ads.
What is an Apple business account used for?
An Apple Business account is used to verify a business, claim its locations and manage place cards. It also holds Insights, offers and newer extras such as Branded Mail. Advertisers need it before running Maps ads.
Are Apple business accounts free?
Yes, the core Apple Business service is free. Claiming locations and editing place cards carry no charge. Maps ads, where available, are priced separately by auction.
Next stops on the Apple Maps hub
The Apple Maps hub collects every guide on how businesses appear on Apple’s map. It covers adding a business, how Maps ads work, and the four parts of this series on Showcases, Insights, multiple locations and Branded Mail.
Begin at Apple Maps explained to see them all in one place.