Google Maps, the navigation app used by billions worldwide is getting the generative AI treatment. The tech giant is testing a new generative AI-powered feature that helps users discover new places like restaurants and bard and even helps with shopping recommendations.
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In a blog post, Google says Maps will use large language models (LLM) to analyse more than 250 million locations and contributions from over 300 million Local Guides to offer suggestions based on whatever it is looking for. The tech giant said Maps will use information from nearby businesses and places along with their photos, reviews and ratings to determine if it is what you are looking for and offer personalised recommendations.
For example, if you want to find a place that sells vintage-themed merchandise, Google Maps will show results organised in different categories like cloth stores, flea markets and vinyl shops and show corresponding photo carousels and summaries of reviews that will help users determine if it is worth visiting or not.
Users can also ask follow-up questions like ‘How about lunch?’ to get suggestions about places that match your previous question, following which they will be able to add the place to a list or share with friends.
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The tech giant said users can also ask Maps questions like what activities they can do on a rainy day, which will then offer suggestions for indoor activities like comedy shows or movie theatres in the area near you along with reviews from people who have already rated the place.
Initially, the new generative AI-backed functionality will be available to a handful of Local Guides residing in the United States, but Google has yet to share any information on when it will be available for those living in other countries.
While it is still unclear how the new search results will be different from traditional search queries, chances are that the company will use generative AI to offer conversational Bard-style replies instead of showing a list of places they can visit or activities to do.
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Google also said that this is the beginning of the integration of generative AI and that we might see more AI-powered features in the future.
