Today, we’re announcing the Preview of Grounding with Google Maps in Vertex AI, giving you access to fresh and factual information on 250 million places. Building on our experimental release, you can now augment Gemini models with one of the world's most trusted sources of Maps data. With this launch, Grounding with Google Maps in Vertex AI is now available in most regions* globally, giving you access to our worldwide Places information.
While many businesses are excited by the potential of AI, they sometimes struggle to trust the output of LLM models. Grounding these models in reliable data sources builds user confidence and increases the accuracy of the output by providing real-time factual data, richer responses, and building trust with supporting links to original sources.
Create more accurate, complete, and personalized AI experiences
With Grounding with Google Maps, you can incorporate fresh information about places into your AI responses to make them more relevant and accurate. You can also provide targeted recommendations for ‘what’s nearby’ with up-to-date details like hours and ratings, and even customize responses by combining your data with Google Maps information. For instance, a realtor can highlight nearby dog parks for a pet owner, while a travel website can share nearby restaurant recommendations for a large group or families. You can integrate rich context about places into a conversational AI assistant or render it directly in your applications.
To visually enhance your AI responses, you have the option to quickly add the familiar Google Maps UI including relevant contextual details like related photos, ratings, and reviews. To create more engaging experiences, you can combine the responses from Grounding with the powerful visual capabilities of Google Maps Platform APIs. For instance, after providing a recommendation with Grounding, you can use the APIs to show where it’s located on an interactive map, display a route or even provide an immersive 3D view of the area around it.
Use insights from millions of contributors to answer specific queries about a place
As part of this Preview release, we are introducing a new capability** to provide rich place answers to ambiguous and specific queries about a place. You now have access to insights from Google Maps user reviews to answer user questions like, “What’s the vibe of the place?”, “Does it have good margaritas?”, or “Is it a good spot for a first date?”
This brings the familiar Google Maps experience of asking Maps questions directly into your apps - enabling you to create experiences that feel like asking a local—or millions of locals—for insider tips.
A travel chat assistant providing answers to a specific question about a bar in Boston
Unlock differentiated AI experiences across industries
In real estate, companies can help buyers make informed decisions by providing neighborhood insights in their AI assistants or as custom overviews directly on listings pages. Leading companies like Realtor.com, are testing Grounding with Google Maps to improve the real estate search experience.
Real Estate search has not fundamentally changed in 20 years, but with AI it's changing for the better. AI-driven search experiences are underpinned by conversational language inputs and cross-contextual data inferences to deliver hyperpersonalized home options unique to every person’s specific wants and needs. Realtor.com is excited by the opportunity that grounding with Google Maps brings to better the real estate search experience. Senior Director of Product, Realtor.com
In travel, companies can help users decide where to stay, explore what’s nearby, and book faster by enhancing AI responses with relevant insights. Similarly, social media platforms can enable users to collectively research and explore areas by offering tailored recommendations for dinner party locations to nearby clubs.
Build with confidence on a unified platform
By building on Vertex AI, you can access trusted data from Google Search and Maps, build with Google's most capable multi-modal models like Gemini and develop on an open and flexible gen AI platform with a unified technology stack.
Read our documentation to learn more or or go to the cloud console if you are ready to get started with Grounding with Google Maps in Vertex AI.
*Service not available for customers with billing addresses in the European Economic Area (EEA). Learn more.
** Currently available in the United States and India
