Please note this post has been updated 4 times. Kindly make sure you check the updates before commenting. Thanks.
Hi all,
Earlier tonight Maps asked me to allow Maps to access my microphone. I did not take much notice of that, but now an interesting news story was published on The Keyword = Google’s official blog:
[A new way to discover places with generative AI in Maps](http://A%20new way to discover places with generative AI in Maps)
This is a citation from the blog post:
“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. Their insights and valuable feedback will help us shape this feature so we can bring it to everyone over time.”
Thanks for this mention!
“Simply say what you’re looking for and our large-language models (LLMs) will analyze Maps’ detailed information about more than 250 million places and trusted insights from our community of over 300 million contributors to quickly make suggestions for where to go.”
One example is this:
“Let’s say you’re visiting San Francisco and want to plan a few hours of thrifting for unique vintage finds. Just ask Maps what you’re looking for, like “places with a vintage vibe in SF.” Our AI models will analyze Maps’ rich information about nearby businesses and places along with photos, ratings and reviews from the Maps community to give you trustworthy suggestions.”
or
“If you’re out and about and it starts to rain, just ask Maps for “activities for a rainy day” to get suggestions for indoor activities.”
I’m looking very much forward to testing this new feature. Are you excited about this new feature?
Cheers
Morten
UPDATE 1
It is working!
I noticed a microphone icon in Google Maps for Android as shown below:
I tapped the mic and said: Show me great vintage shops. And voila: a list of such shops showed up.
Fantastic!
UPDATE 2
Friends made me aware that the microphone has been there for a long time.
So I wanted to test if more sophisticated text search could reveal if AI is involved or not. I said: what are fun places for the little ones on a rainy day in San Francisco. The results were pretty good. And some terms from reviews were made bold. These were clearly relevant synonyms to words I said. So something smart is going on, but I doubt I have access to the new AI search thing yet. I would expect there to be more conversation in the results. Sorry, that I incorrectly thought the mic was new.
The Verge also posted about this new feature. See https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/1/24057994/google-maps-generative-ai-llm-local-guide-search
Clearly, they too have no idea what the new feature really looks like.
UPDATE 3
See below. My friend @SP31 just shared 3 screenshots showing what he new feature looks like. So now I’m 100 percent sure I don’t see it yet.
Thanks Steve.
UPDATE 4
Today February 7th the Connect Moderators received a few more details about this test. Including the following:
Starting in the U.S., this early access experiment will roll out to select Local Guides over the coming weeks. Local Guides with access to the experiment will be notified directly in the Google Maps app, and may also receive an email. As active and passionate members of the Maps community, their insights and feedback will help shape the feature so it can be brought to more people over time.
It is not possible for others to apply to join the test.
There will be a survey for participants to fill out.
For those testing it is possible to turn the Generative AI search off.
Cheers
Morten
