Google Maps is getting a dose of generative AI to let users search and find places in a more conversational manner, and serve up useful and interesting suggestions.
This smart AI tech comes in the form of an ‘Ask about’ user interface where people can ask Google Maps questions like where to find “places with a vintage vibe” in San Francisco. That will prompt the AI to analyze information about nearby businesses and places, such as photos, ratings and reviews, to serve up suggestions related to the question being asked.
You can save the suggestions or share them, helping you coordinate with friends who might all have different preferences like being vegan, checking if a venue is dog friendly, making sure it’s indoors, and so on.
By tapping into the search giant’s large-language models, Google Maps can analyze detailed information using data from more than 250 million locations, and photos, ratings and reviews from its community of over 300 million contributors to provide “trustworthy” suggestions.
The experimental feature is starting to roll out now but is only coming to “select Local Guides” in the US. It will use these members’ insights and feedback to develop and test the feature before what’s likely to be its eventual full rollout, which Google has not provided a date for.