Introducing Places Insights API, now available in preview. This new API enables developers to move beyond simple location details and unlock a deeper understanding of the places users explore. By tapping into Google Map Platform’s place data, developers can reveal the unique characteristics that define a neighborhood’s personality—its restaurants, parks, entertainment, and more.
For example, let's say a user is searching for the perfect hotel in a new city in a neighborhood that fits their needs. With Places Insights API, your app can surface more details about an area. It can reveal the distinct character of each neighborhood, highlighting areas with a high concentration of cafes, filtering results based on user preferences (e.g. “$$ price level” or “rating”), and even surfacing neighborhood features like walkability and green spaces. This allows users to find a hotel where there’s a high concentration of things they care about like nightlife or things to do.
Showing a heat map of an area in Mountain View that shows where the concentration of cafes and tourist attractions are located.
Craft dynamic, insight-driven experiences
The Places Insights API provides the insights to create truly dynamic and data-rich experiences. Visualize the density of over 280 place types within a defined area, helping users understand the concentration of restaurants, shops, parks, and more. Refine results by specific attributes—e.g. customer ratings, operating status, and price level to cater to individual needs. We are continuing to grow our places data and have recently launched 104 new place types. For more details on what place types are now supported, check out the documentation page.
Capture the essence with custom scores
Developers can also use the API to further create unique experiences by generating custom scores or heat map visualizations that capture the unique vibe of an area. The API provides underlying inputs and you can decide how to weigh these factors to quantify aspects like walkability, nightlife, or even the prevalence of specific cuisines. Combine insight data with your own sources to create truly unique metrics that reflect the character of a place. For example, travelers can compare hotel locations based on nearby dining options, while homebuyers can assess neighborhoods based on distance to schools, parks, etc.
Showing custom Family Friendly Score that uses count information of the local area.
Build with the power and scale of Google Maps
Places Insights API is built on the fresh, factual, and comprehensive data of Google Maps Platform, which includes over 250 million businesses and points of interest across 250 countries and territories. With 100 million updates to the map every day, the data helps users have access to the latest information, giving them confidence in their app and providing users with a detailed understanding of the areas they are exploring.
To get started, visit our developer documentation to explore the Preview version of Places Insights API. Please fill out this form to let us know about your experience and to shape the future of the API—we welcome suggestions and feedback.
We can’t wait to see what you build with Places Insights.
