Google Maps is getting new features to help you with your summer travels. Now you can more easily discover helpful lists from popular websites and mapping communities, starting with “Featured Cities” in the United States and Canada.
Google says that when you search for one of its cities in Maps, you can swipe up to see a curated list of recommendations “from people who know the city well.” There are also lists from “your favorite sites,” such as The Infatuation’s picks for restaurants, Lonely Planet’s guides, The New York Times’ 36-hour itinerary, and OpenTable’s guide to the best new restaurants.
Google Maps will also create new restaurant listings based on “places people are interested in or like on Maps right now.” The products will launch this week in more than 40 cities across the United States and Canada. The Trending List is updated weekly and features locations that have recently surged in popularity on the map, the Hot List shows locations that people have been loving, and the Gem List is designed to show the “community’s best-kept secrets,” filled with places that are still flying below restaurant radar.
If you like using lists in maps, you’ll love the fact that you can now reorder the items in your lists to your liking. You can even create ranked lists and link content from social channels within the list to showcase why a place deserves a spot. The feature will be rolled out to global maps by the end of this month.
Now that AI is inevitable, Google Maps is using AI to identify key insights from the mapping community to help you “better understand” a place and its highlights at a glance. When you browse photos of food at a restaurant, AI will help you identify the dish’s name and show you its price, whether it’s popular and whether it’s vegetarian or vegan.
Finally, Maps has a new look, with a cleaner home screen, fewer tabs, and new pin colors designed to make it easier to find places on the map.
source