Users will be able to search with photos captured by their smartphone cameras, owing to augmented reality. Google Maps will be upgraded to give users an increasingly immersive experience.
Google is upgrading Maps and several of its search tools in order to cater to a younger demographic that is more comfortable with predominant material such as that available on TikTok and Instagram.
The company revealed at its annual I/O conference that it wants to put out a “multi search” tool that will enable users to blend photos and text to search for content. Furthermore, it assured that its Maps function would be more engaging.
Google senior VP and product chief Prabhakar Raghavan told Bloomberg that the company has witnessed a trend of users being more eager to interact with the actual world. Gen Z Internet users are now using Instagram and TikTok searches to seek information like places to go to eat at.
At the I/O conference on May 11 and 12, Google delivered a hundred fresh announcements. The enhancements are emerging as the corporation tries to keep up with competitors like Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon.
Raghavan said on the organisation’s blog that users can benefit from the new and advanced search features as they are intuitive. He stated that when a user tries multi searching to know about a certain product or service, Google begins fetching data from countless reviews and photos on the Internet, along with community content on Maps. It can then display appropriate results for the nearest venues/businesses that offer the product or service in question.
According to Raghavan, the update will allow users to get a more streamlined search engine experience. He expressed to Bloomberg that the idea behind the new rollouts is to make Search into a service that lets people search for anything, and from anywhere.
Based on a post by Miriam Daniel, VP, Google Maps, the new Search version leverages modern computing vision. It is an AI technology that extracts data from videos and photographs, to deliver an increasingly immersive view of neighbourhoods, eateries, and other places.
Daniel said that the new Search and Map updates can also be useful for those who are visiting other cities across the world, and trying to figure out the best sightseeing places. The technology can help them get far better exploration experiences.
Users will also be able to evaluate traffic, gain crowd size information, and updates regarding the weather at any location. This is revolutionary as it is like having an eye in the sky that shows what someone can expect even before they visit a place.
Developers are hoping to expand the AR feature even more by developing three-dimensional encounters premised on the merging of countless Street View and aerial images. But, Raghavan made it clear to Bloomberg that an offering like the metaverse is now in the initial stages.
According to Bloomberg, the enhanced search and mapping capabilities will be available later in the year, starting with a few locations such as London, New York, and Tokyo.
