Another Google tool is going to get generative AI. This time, it’s for using Maps to find activities.
The internet behemoth unveiled a new feature on Thursday for Google Maps: the integration of large language models (LLMs) into the browsing experience. You can use search terms that include discussion starters, such as “gluten-free pizza places that are dog-friendly,” to find local eateries, events, shops, etc.
To provide you with an AI-generated overview of results, the Google Maps feature will examine its data, which includes business details, contributor ratings and reviews, and photographs.
Google is a generative AI Pioneer
To get comments and insights, a limited number of Local Guides will be able to participate in the “early access experiment” initially. Given that generative AI replies frequently contain errors and delusions, this will be an important step.
Google Maps’ generative AI follows in the footsteps of other newly released products that offer review summaries. An Amazon application allows you to share the most noteworthy product reviews. Additionally, Yelp introduced its own tool this week for review summaries of businesses on the network that are generated by AI.
For businesses hoping to use generative AI’s powers in ways that appeal to consumers, it’s an obvious next step. However, generative AI summaries aren’t always reliable, as demonstrated by Amazon’s tool. Additionally, individuals seeking for complex and varied viewpoints may find that summaries produced by AI are frequently general and unduly simplistic.
Although the tool is for a distinct Google service, it offers some insight into Google’s generative AI philosophy in general. Google’s testing area, Labs, is still home to SGE (Search Generative Experiment). However, SGE uses generative AI in a similar way to deliver condensed answers to Google searches in Search, which has already sparked concerns about leveraging publisher content while diverting users away from those particular websites.
It is unclear if SGE will ever be implemented in its current form. On the other hand, the generative AI aspect of Google Maps is here to stay and is paving the way for a new paradigm in user interaction with Google.