Google’s Maps, Search, and Shopping Are Getting a Major Pre-Christmas Update

On November 17, 2022, Google announced that it was about to launch a host of new features for its Maps, Search, and Shopping services. The rollout began almost two months after the company’s annual Search On event, where Google traditionally presented changes coming to the search engine in the nearest future. Here is more about each of the new features and the benefits they offer to users:

Search

Google's core service has been expanded to include two new functionalities. The first enables users to search for their favorite dish among nearby restaurants that carry it on their menu and get detailed information on the price, ingredients, etc. The other functionality is “Multisearch near me,” designed to let iOS and Android device owners use Lens in the Google app to take a shot of the dish, add the "near me" keyword and quickly discover a local food business that sells it.

Shopping

The two new features to arrive at Google’s Shopping department right in time for Christmas sales are AR Shopping and the functionality that allows trying out products in 3D and AR. The former makes it easy to choose a beauty product with the shade of foundation that will suit the user best, while the latter can be used to examine a specific product in detail by spinning and zooming in on it to get a close-up view.

Maps

The Google Maps service is being updated with three new functionalities. The first one is Live View to navigate through cities more intuitively. One value-adding aspect of the feature is that it contains AR overlays with crucial information about each place of business, including prices and opening times. The two other Maps novelties are aimed at helping people find EV charging points and locate wheelchair-accessible, stair-free places nearby.

What do you think of Google’s new features? Are they helpful? Speak up in the comments!