How do I set holiday hours on my Google Business Profile?

Open your Business Profile, choose Edit profile, then Hours, and select Edit next to Special hours. Pick the date, enter your hours or tick Closed, and save. Google suggests confirming hours on official holidays even when they match your regular hours, so customers know they are accurate.

When is Small Business Saturday 2026?

Saturday, 28 November 2026, two days after Thanksgiving on Thursday, 26 November. Main Street America points out that this leaves only 27 days between Small Business Saturday and Christmas, a short window to plan for.

Can I make sure ChatGPT or Gemini shows the right information about my shop?

Not directly. No business can control what an AI assistant says. What you can do is publish clear, consistent facts (hours, prices or from-prices, what you stock, offer dates) on your website and Google Business Profile, and fix anything out of date, so the correct version is the easiest one to find.

Can GBot update my Google hours or tell AI tools about my shop?

No. GBot does not edit your Google Business Profile and cannot change what other AI tools say. It can draft the holiday hours post, the offer wording, the price list and replies to customer questions in your voice, and you approve and publish them yourself.

Holiday Shoppers Ask AI First: 2026 Small Business Checklist

Q: How are shoppers using AI for holiday shopping in 2026?

In Visa's 2026 Holiday Spending Shift Survey, 54% of US adults said they had used AI for at least one shopping task, up from 47% last year. The tasks people were most comfortable handing to AI were comparing prices (61%), checking availability (59%), finding discounts (57%) and suggesting gift ideas (54%).

Q: Do gift cards have to have an expiration date?

No, and in the US the funds cannot expire too soon. The CFPB says gift card funds must be good for at least five years under federal law, some states give more time, and inactivity fees can only start after 12 months of inactivity. Check your state rules too. This is general information, not legal advice.

The short answer: more holiday shoppers now ask an AI assistant before they visit or buy, and the questions are practical: what does it cost, is it in stock, is there a deal. Those answers come from what your business has published. Before the rush, set your holiday hours on Google, publish clear prices or from-prices, say plainly what you stock, write each offer once with dates, and make your gift card terms easy to read. The checklist below covers all eight items.

This is for gift shops, boutiques, salons and spas, florists, bakeries, bookshops, studios and any local business that sells or books something people give as a present.

What changed this season

Two things make this holiday season different for small businesses.

Shoppers are using AI to do the legwork. Visa's 2026 Holiday Spending Shift Survey, run by Morning Consult with 1,016 US adults, found that 54% have used AI for at least one shopping task, up from 47% last year. The tasks people were most comfortable handing over were comparing prices (61%), checking availability (59%), finding discounts (57%) and suggesting gift ideas (54%). Trust drops at checkout, though: Visa's Trust Index found only 23% of US consumers trust generative AI to handle a payment for them. So AI is mostly helping people decide where to go, not paying for them.

The window is short. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, 26 November, and the SBA confirms Small Business Saturday is 28 November 2026. Main Street America notes that leaves just 27 days to Christmas. NRF expects November and December retail sales to grow 4.2% over 2025, to $1.013 trillion. The demand is there, but the season is compressed.

Put together: the first impression of your shop may be an AI summary, and you have about four weeks to make sure it is built on the right facts.

The holiday info checklist

Work through these in order. Each one takes minutes, not days.

Special hours on Google. Add every date you open late, close early or close. Include days you keep normal hours too (see the steps below).
Hours on your website match. One holiday hours line on your homepage or contact page, the same as Google.
Prices people can find. A clear price list or honest from-prices ("Gift sets from $25", "Cut and finish from $55"). A shopper comparing prices cannot compare you if your prices are not anywhere.
Stock in plain words. For popular items, say what you carry and how to check: "We stock 30+ local candle scents. Call or DM to check a specific one." Do not promise live stock you do not track.
Each offer written once. Start date, end date, what is included, what is excluded. Copy the exact wording to every place it appears.
Gift cards and gift vouchers. Price options, how to buy (in store, online, by phone), and how long they last.
Delivery, pickup and last order dates. "Last day for local delivery before Christmas: 21 December." If you do not ship, say so.
Replies that match. Save short answers for the questions you will get in DMs and email, using the same facts. Our Instagram DM reply templates cover prices, hours and bookings.

If you have not touched your Google profile in a while, run the full Google Business Profile checklist first.

How to set holiday hours on Google

Google's own help page gives these steps for special hours:

Go to your Business Profile and select Edit profile, then Hours.
Next to Special hours, select Edit.
Confirm a suggested holiday date with Review, or choose Add a date.
Enter your hours, or leave Closed ticked if you are shut that day.
Select Save.

Two details from the same page are worth knowing. Special hours cover changes of up to 6 days in a row; for 7 days or more, Google says to mark the business as temporarily closed. And Google recommends confirming hours on official holidays even if they are the same as usual, so customers can see they are accurate.

Dates to check this season: 26 November (Thanksgiving), 27 November (Black Friday), 28 November (Small Business Saturday), 24 and 25 December, 31 December and 1 January.

Write the offer once

A deal that reads differently on your window, website and Instagram confuses people and any tool summarising it. Fill this block, then paste it everywhere:

[Offer name]: [what the customer gets] on [products or services]. Dates: [start day and date] to [end day and date]. Excludes: [anything not included, or "nothing"]. How to get it: [in store / code / mention it when booking].

Example (illustrative): Small Business Saturday: a free gift wrap and 10% off all candles. Dates: Saturday 28 November only. Excludes: gift cards. How to get it: in store.

For offer ideas that protect your margin, see Black Friday ideas for small businesses and the Small Business Saturday 2026 plan.

Gift card terms in plain words

Gift cards are an easy present to suggest, so make the terms short and visible. In the US, the CFPB says gift card funds must be good for at least five years under federal law, some states give more time, and inactivity fees can only be charged after 12 months of inactivity and if other conditions are met. The simplest line is often the best one: "Our gift cards do not expire." If you trade outside the US or are not sure, check your local rules. This is general information, not legal advice.

Quick check: ask an AI about your own shop

Open the assistant you use and ask the questions a shopper would: "Is [your shop] in [town] open on 28 November?", "How much is a gift set at [your shop]?", "Does [your shop] sell [item]?". You are not testing the AI. You are checking which of your public facts are missing, old or inconsistent. Anything wrong usually traces back to an outdated page, an old post or a listing you forgot about. Fix the source, not the answer. Our post on Google AI calling your business covers the same idea for phone questions.

Where GBot fits

GBot already reads your website or Instagram during setup, including your products, prices, hours and tone. That makes the holiday writing faster: Mia can draft the holiday hours post and the offer block, Sam can turn your prices into a clean price list, Leo can make a matching flyer, and Nora drafts replies to the "are you open?" and "how much?" messages in your voice for you to approve. GBot does not edit your Google Business Profile and cannot change what other AI tools say about you. You publish the facts; it helps you write them.

Sources

Visa: Secret SantAI? Visa survey finds Americans quietly turning to AI for holiday shopping help (30 October 2026); also on Business Wire
SBA: Small Business Saturday
Main Street America: Preparing for a unique holiday shopping season in 2026 (8 September 2026)
NRF: NRF forecasts 2026 holiday sales growth (15 October 2026)
Google Business Profile Help: How to set special hours
CFPB: If my prepaid card expires, do I lose my money? (gift card rules)

The shoppers asking AI this season want the same three things they always asked a shop assistant: the price, whether you have it, and when you are open. Put those answers online, the same way everywhere, before 28 November.