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Google Launches New Search Features for Food, Shopping and More

3 min read
Google Launches New Search, Shopping, and Maps Features

Google has recently launched a bundle of new features covering multiple facets of life such a dining, shopping, EV charging, wheelchair accessibility and a whole lot more. While some of these features have been up and about for some time now, at least in several locations, others have fresh new. This adds a whole new dimension to how people search using Google, helping them in ways that was only wishful up until now. The features and improvements are now available in Google Maps, Google Shopping, Google Lens, and Multisearch. Let’s take a quick look at what they are and how they can benefit you in a number of ways.

Multisearch to find food

If you see a dish that looks too tempting or irresistible to not try in the next few minutes, you can simply take a picture of it with Google Lens, type “Near Me” and viola, Google Multisearch will provide you a bunch of nearby restaurant options where you can order and devour it. The Product Manager of Google Lens, Cindy Huynh said, “This new way of searching will help me and local businesses in my community, so I can more easily support neighbourhood shops during the holidays.”

In addition to using Google Lens to find dishes in nearby restaurants, you can also simply type in the name of the dish you’d like to have with “Near Me” affixed at the end. Google will show you nearby restaurants where can order it, along with giving you more options like prices, ingredients, and even additional menu information. Foodies for sure are in for a ride.

AR features to shop for shoes and beauty products

Google is taking giant leaps when it comes to using Augmented Reality (AR) for Shopping. One of the prime examples being: now you use it to see sneakers in the space of your home. Google said this feature allows the user to spin, zoom, and see the shoes in your space. Apart from shoes, users can find and try beauty products to see which one suits you the best without leaving the comforts of their home. To make it a comprehensive experience, Google has added a photo library with 150 models that represent different skin tones, ages, genders, face shapes, ethnicities and skin types, allowing its users to test over 2000 foundation shades from a wide variety of brands.

Google says, “There’s something special about shopping in a store: the lights, the scents, the music. While we can’t experience all those little details when we shop online, we’re making big improvements to AR shopping on Google to bring the most important part of a store — the product — to life.”

Google Maps have taken the next step in map evolution

Now you can Google’s AR to map-search your neighbourhoods and explore them to see what all is nearby. This is nifty little feature that is sure to change the shape of how people search using Google Maps.  Google says, “Say you’re visiting New York with plans to knock out your holiday shopping and catch up with friends. Lift your phone and tap on the camera icon in the search bar to see nearby stores and other places like coffee shops, banks and ATMs. With AR-powered directions and arrows, you can see what direction they’re in and how far away they are — and even spot places that aren’t in your immediate view (like a clothing store around the block) to get a true sense of the neighbourhood at a glance.”

On top of that, you can also use Google Maps to find EV Charging Stations nearby and get real-time information about them. “Now it’s even easier to find the best charging station for your car. Search for “EV charging stations” and select the “fast charge” filter — you’ll see stations with chargers 50kW or higher so you can charge up faster. You can also filter for stations that offer your EV’s plug type in more countries so you only see stations with plugs that are compatible with your car. Both features are live now on Android and iOS in countries where EV charging stations are available.” says Google.

Last but not the least, you can also find places that have wheelchair-accessible entrances. While the EV Charging Station feature is available on both Android and iOS wherever there are EV Charging Stations, the wheelchair-accessible functionality is available globally.