Caption: An illustration of a map with several travel-related icons (like cameras, a piece of paper with a pencil, and a magnifying glass) scattered on top, with a Local Guide in the center.
Here on Connect, we love to highlight news that will positively impact our community of passionate Local Guides.
That’s why we’re thrilled to announce that we’re piloting a new in-app feature in Google Maps that will allow people to discover new places with help from Local Guides just like you.
In nine cities worldwide, people will soon be able to follow select Local Guides for recommendations on places and experiences to try nearby. These cities include Bangkok, Delhi, London, Mexico City, New York, Osaka, San Francisco, São Paulo and Tokyo.
People exploring those cities will see featured Local Guides in the For You tab of the Google Maps app. When you follow one of them, their recommendations will be surfaced to you in Google Maps to inspire your next adventure.
Local Guides were selected to test the feature based on a number of things like opt-in city, how often they share recommendations, and quality and frequency of contributions on Maps.
By highlighting these Local Guides and their reviews, lists, and photos, we’re exploring how we can make Google Maps a more helpful tool for discovering new places and experiences.
So, if you live in one of the nine test cities, keep an eye on the For You tab of Google Maps. You just might discover something new with help from a friend in our community.
Are you excited about this new feature? Let us know in the comments.