- Look for these four new features in Google Maps
- They cover exploring places, charging electric vehicles and reviews
- Some Google Maps vacation trend data was also shared
The holiday season is always a busy time for shopping and travel, and Google wants to help: It’s adding four new features to Google Maps that cover places to go, electric vehicle charging, and a way to give back to the places you visit.
First, what Google calls “insider tips” built with Google Gemini. The feature acts like a local guide – or rather an AI that takes feedback from local guides – to give you detailed information about a place that goes beyond the official list.
Some examples Google gives are the best ways to book, the dress code, where you should park, and any secret items that might be on the menu – all delivered into Google Maps for you via Gemini. You’ll find these tips on place cards, and they’re now appearing for US users on Android and iOS.
Google Maps’ trusty Explore tab is also updated, with “trendy and popular restaurants, activities, and sights near you,” pulled from sources like OpenTable and Lonely Planet. The idea is that you can get helpful tips on where to visit next, at any time, and this will be rolling out globally this month for Android and iOS.
Charging and servicing electric vehicles
Our third new feature is the ability to search for “EV chargers” in Google Maps and get AI-driven predictions of how busy they will be once there, based on “historical and real-time” charger data. In theory, this should mean you don’t spend hours getting to a charger only to find long lines.
This builds on several EV improvements we’ve seen in Google Maps over the past few months and years, and improves on the current system that only tells you whether a charger is currently free or not. Google says the rollout will begin on Android Auto and cars with Google Embedded worldwide starting next week.
Finally, you can now choose a separate nickname and photo for your reviews on Google Maps. So if you want to offer a five-star review somewhere, you don’t have to use your real name. This will go live this month worldwide, on Android, iOS and the web.
Additionally, Google also released some holiday data trends for Google Maps: These trends tell you the busiest times to travel, shop, and visit the post office, so you can do your best to avoid the busiest crowds.
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