The Alphabet-owned tech giant, Google has announced new artificial intelligence (AI) powered feature to Google Maps that aim to help users discover new places.
The latest generative AI feature will give personalized recommendations based on users’ specific needs. It uses large language models (LLMs) to analyze more than 250 million locations on Google Maps and contributions from over 300 million contributors to pull up suggestions on where to go.
Starting in the U.S., this early access experiment launches this week to select Local Guides, who are some of the most active and passionate members of the Maps community.
If a user is visiting San Francisco and wants to plan a few hours of thrifting for unique vintage finds, the user can ask Maps what they’re looking for, like “places with a vintage vibe in SF” and the AI models will analyze Maps’ information about nearby businesses and places along with photos, ratings and reviews from the Maps community to give suggestions.
Additionally, users will see results organized into categories along with photo carousels and review summaries. The conversation can be continued with follow-up questions like “How about lunch?” and the AI feature will suggest places matching the interests of users. Google claims the AI-powered feature will help in easily discovering places and exploring the world with Maps.
