Maps shifting to recommendations

Google Maps is starting to answer local searches with recommendations, not just lists of nearby businesses. (searchengineland.com) Google’s new Ask Maps feature uses Gemini to handle questions such as where to eat or what to do, and Google said in March it was rolling out in the United States and India on Android and iPhone. Google’s help pages say the tool gives “recommendations and answers” inside Maps. (blog.google) (support.google.com) In tests published April 14, Search Engine Land found Ask Maps was treating business profiles less like directory entries and more like evidence for whether a place fits a request. The examples it cited favored review wording, specific services and recent proof such as photos or posts. (searchengineland.com) That changes what a Maps profile is doing. A profile that once mainly needed the right category, address and hours now also needs language and media that help Google’s system explain why a place matches a prompt. (searchengineland.com) Google has been building toward that model for more than two years. In February 2024, the company said it was testing generative artificial intelligence in Maps with select United States Local Guides to help people discover places and things to do. (blog.google) Google has also been adding more fresh user content to Maps. Search Engine Land reported on April 7 that Google was redesigning Local Guides, expanding artificial intelligence captions and surfacing recent media, including suggested uploads from a user’s camera roll. (searchengineland.com) The scale of the underlying map helps explain why Google is leaning on this material. Google said in late 2024 that more than 2 billion people use Maps each month and that it makes more than 100 million map updates every day using images, partners and community contributions. (blog.google) Google’s own help pages say its artificial intelligence features in Maps may use location, account information and activity to make answers more relevant and personalized. That means the ranking question is no longer only which business is closest or best categorized, but which profile gives Google enough current detail to recommend it. (support.google.com)