Your AI Assistant Can Now Look Up Local Businesses Directly
G Maps Crawl published instructions on Oct. 3, 2026, for a remote connection that lets compatible AI assistants search Google Maps business listings, up to 20 businesses per question, using API-workspace credentials. Gmapscrawl MCP documentation
Think of it like giving the assistant its own phone book to check during a task, instead of handing it a printed list beforehand. It uses a standard method for assistants to ask other software for help, called Model Context Protocol, over a simple web-based method called stateless Streamable HTTP.
How it connects
Assistants connect over a secure HTTPS web connection to https://gmapscrawl.com/api/mcp. Gmapscrawl keeps /mcp as another name for that same address.
Access uses an API key only. The key is saved as an Authorization: Bearer value in the secret settings of the assistant's connection setup. Browser login cookies do not work here, and keys should not be pasted into questions or web addresses.
What it can do
There is only one tool, called search_google_maps. It returns available listing details, including contact details, ratings and review counts. Gmapscrawl states its REST and MCP connections deliver the same business records through an API workspace. Gmapscrawl homepage
What you need to run it
Live searches need an API entitlement and an available cloud service. MCP use comes out of the same API usage allowance as REST calls. The Online subscription does not include API or MCP use.
Gmapscrawl lists Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code and Codex, as long as the version supports remote HTTP MCP and custom authorization headers. Setup happens in the connection definition, with the address and key kept as secrets rather than written in conversation.
A test key is provided to try the setup with simulated sample data. That lets teams confirm the connection and tool call work before running live searches.
Where to learn more
Full instructions are on a dedicated page at https://gmapscrawl.com/google-maps-scraper-mcp. Broader help covers the Online scraper, API, AI agents, contact data, exports and account help. Guides index The product covers Browser, hosted, REST and MCP ways to get Google Maps business data, with the listed Basic plan at $49 per month for 80,000 records per month. Pricing page
The broader context here is a deliberately small and simple setup. One connection method, one login pattern and one tool leave fewer things to go wrong.
In my view, the practical change is where the lookup happens. The records are unchanged, but assistants can check listings while doing prospecting, enrichment and local-market research, rather than in a separate export step. That works best when the 20-business limit, field availability, entitlement checks and shared usage are treated as fixed rules for questions and retries. Handled that way, it should be easier to maintain over time than custom scraping code added to assistant projects.
