Google Maps is full of new features with three new functions that improve its recommendations system. On the program: participatory and personalized lists, AI and tweaks to the interface.
Lately, Google has made significant efforts to make its mapping service more enjoyable. Thus, Google Maps has had the right to an overhaul of its interface, particularly in terms of route search, in order to bring a more than welcome touch of modernity and to make navigation a little easier. The application has also integrated the local weather into the places consulted, and now guides you in your travels by displaying your route in real time, without you needing to go through navigation mode, thanks to the Directions in the blink of an eye function. eye. But the Internet giant does not intend to stop there! He actually announced in a blog post the arrival of a whole slew of new functions aimed at improving the recommendation system, all accompanied by some tweaks to the interface. Enough to become even more of a real tourist guide!
Google Maps: new recommendation lists and AI
The first novelty concerns the expansion of the lists. Until now, you could create these yourself, by saving your favorite addresses or those you wanted to visit. Google Maps will now offer, in around forty American and Canadian cities, recommendations from the user community, but also from third-party sites, such as travel and restaurant guides (Lonely Planet, New York Times, OpenTable, etc.). Just search for the city name and listings will appear. Thus, the “Trending” list will show you the most popular places of the moment, with an update every week, while the “Top” list will concern the most popular places all periods combined. Finally, the “Gems” list (rare gems) will reveal the unsuspected nuggets that are worth the detour. In the coming months, Google Maps will also begin highlighting some of the best listings from community members.
When you create a list to keep track of places you want to go or particularly like, you’ll always see them pinned on your map. With this update, you will be able to organize your lists chronologically. For example, if you’re planning a trip and compiling recommendations, you can organize them chronologically, like an itinerary. You can then move the places you’ve visited up or down to create a ranked list of your favorite places, to help you make the best recommendations. You can also annotate them and share them on your social networks.
Google continues its momentum and plans to add a hint of artificial intelligence to its mapping application. The AI will be responsible for summarizing key information provided by the community. For example, she will identify a dish in a photo based on the restaurant menu and indicate its price, its popularity, whether it is a vegetarian or vegan dish, etc.
Finally, Google Maps is entitled to slight changes to its interface. The application will soon display “a cleaner home screen with fewer tabs, and new pin colors that make it easier to find places on the map”. All these new features are normally already implemented in the latest update of the Google Maps application on Android and iOS, as well as on the web, for American and Canadian users.