Google brings India-first AI-powered localised features to Maps app

Google Maps is getting AI-based Address Descriptors, an India-first feature that offers richer information of pinned location.

Google Maps is the most used navigation mobile application around the world including India. None of the competitors come close to offering a user-friendly interface to explore cities and even rural regions.

It should be noted that In India, Google has managed to map millions of kilometers of urban and rural roads, covering 300 million plus buildings. On average, users make more than 50 million searches across multiple languages, covering over 2.5 billion km of directions every single day on Google Maps in the subcontinent.

In the past several years, Google has incorporated Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered features and this has helped around 30 million business owners. Most importantly, thanks to features such as business hours, photos, videos, and reviews, has helped several millions of users make informed decisions to make purchases on stores published on Google Maps.

Now, Google Maps will get even better and offer more localised solutions to users in India.

Google Maps is getting Address Descriptors, an India-first feature that offers richer information on pinned locations.

For instance, if a person has moved to a new place in an unfamiliar suburban region and wants to invite his friends for his housewarming ceremony, he/she shares a pinned location on Google Maps. But, the guests have to do multiple stoppages to get guidance by locals to reach that exact location.

Here where Address Descriptors come in to play to reduce the stress of navigating through complicated streets of Indian cities and suburban regions.

Address Descriptors on Google Maps uses a combination of machine learning signals and AI, to offer at least five popular land marks nearest to the pinned location. This way, users can reach the final destination with less hassle.

Google Maps Address Descriptors

Google Maps will get the new Address Descriptors feature in 75 plus cities soon in India.

Last year, Google Maps introduced Street View in select regions in India and since then, it has expanded to 3,000 cities and towns.

Now, Google is bringing Lens feature to offer more deeper insights into the streets and local businesses and restaurants for people.

Lens in Maps will be launching first in 15 cities across India by January 2024, starting with Android.

"We’re bringing innovations like Lens in Maps and Live View walking navigation to India by combining Street View imagery along with advanced AI and AR technologies to create these immersive experiences," said Miriam Daniel, VP & GM, of Google Maps.

With the Live View walking navigation feature, the Maps app will flash arrows on the live screen to offer a turn-by-turn-by-direction guide along with distance markers on top.

Google is also expanding the 'Where Is My Train' app availability in more Indian cities to cover Mumbai and Kolkata Local Trains.

More cities will be added in the future.

And, Google is partnering with ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) and Namma Yatri mobility app to offer digitised support on Google Maps.

For hassle-free last-mile connectivity, metro train users will be able to book cabs and autos affiliated with Namma Yatri right on Google Maps to reach their destination.

“Technology can drive up the adoption of public transport by making it seamless and super convenient. We believe Namma Yatri’s citizen/community-first approach, combined with deep technological innovation, can help transform this space. We are happy for this partnership with ONDC who plays a critical role in bringing the ecosystem players together, and with Google Maps whose ubiquity can take this innovation to all the citizens towards a positive impact,” said Vimal Kumar, Founder and CEO of Juspay.

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