Imagine you’re a delivery driver. The route was efficient, the ETA was spot on, and the map says ‘you have arrived’. There is just one problem: you are standing at the leasing office, but the package is for Tower 4, Unit B, which is actually two blocks away behind the main entrance.
For years, an address has relied on a simple translation—becoming a single point on a map. A user types in a street name and number, and the map displays a pin. However, a destination is more than just a point on a map; it is often a place with context including specific building entrances, outlines, pedestrian/vehicle access points, and relationships to the buildings around it.
To solve this “last-meter” gap, we’re launching the Geocoding Destinations endpoint available in the Geocoding API, now in Preview. Powered by destination details, a new set of rich, hyperlocal data, this launch marks a fundamental shift in the navigation cycle: enabling deep selection and refinement of granular destinations, which then feeds directly into our routing and navigation engines, ensuring that every part of the journey is precise from first search to final drop-off.
We are making destination details available at no additional cost within our Geocoding API, redefining and elevating the geocoding baseline for our users.
Destination details include a consistent, rich, and structured package of hyperlocal data that provides a complete picture of the destination. They are designed to power the entire journey—from destination selection and in-trip navigation to the crucial last-meter drop-off. They extend beyond Geocoding to enhance other Google Maps Platform offerings, such as the Navigation SDK.
Destination details deliver high-fidelity data about:
Hierarchy & relationships: Understand the contextual relationship between places, such as knowing that "Unit 402" is located inside "Building B," which is part of the "Oakwood Complex."
Precise entrances: Identify specific building entrances to distinguish between a service entrance and a delivery dock, marking the optimal spot for a vehicle to approach for a pickup or drop-off.
Building & compound outlines: Visualize the actual building footprint instead of a floating pin, giving users immediate visual confirmation of their target on the map.
Navigation points: Identify the optimal stop location for a vehicle, ensuring drivers are routed to the most convenient point of arrival rather than just the street address.
Nearby landmarks: Leverage key landmarks to help with orientation during trip planning and visual confirmation upon arrival.
AI "arrival summaries": Receive directional context, (e.g., "entrance is past the fountain on the left") that can provide users with easy to understand guidance to their destination.
Transforming inconsistent, one-dimensional addresses into rich destination context that powers the entire journey: selection, navigation, and arrival
It’s about the journey and the destination
Drivers require helpful information before they start a trip, like where the entrance is or parking situations. They also need context during the trip, as well as the last meter, to complete their task successfully and efficiently. To help solve this, we apply destination details to each stage of the trip:
Pick destinations with confidence: Selection is no longer limited to just a street number. Whether via search or a map tap, users can now identify and select specific sub-premises, like Tower 4 or Loading Dock B, ensuring the correct target is set before the journey even begins. For developers, this means less friction and higher efficiency in the app flow. For users, it means a smoother experience whether they are ordering a package or catching a ride, ensuring the driver has the right target before the engine even starts.
Navigation points and Street View help rideshare passengers see and choose the best drop-off location
Navigate with specificity and arrive with confidence: Enhance the in-trip experience by ensuring that data flows seamlessly from the initial search to the final turn. Once the granular selection is made, the details can be directly passed to Google’s routing and navigation products. The Navigation SDK maintains the exact service gate or pickup point identified at the start by accepting NavigationPointTokens from the Geocoding API. This ensures all relevant search context is encoded, allowing the accurate highlighting of the destination building for drivers as they approach their destination. This directly reduces the ambiguity that causes costly failures and delays.
Finding the delivery destination made easier by exposing detailed address information in Navigation SDK
This precision upgrades the experience whether you are building a mobility application with Navigation SDK or utilizing Google Maps intents. For example, a user can coordinate a meeting at a specific mall entrance within a messaging app. When their friend opens that location, it can trigger an intent into the Google Maps app, surfacing that exact building outline and entrance, providing instant visual clarity, directly within the familiar consumer experience they already know and trust.
Coordinate with precision: Sharing a specific entrance in a messaging app triggers exact building outlines and arrival points in Google Maps
Coming Soon: In an upcoming update, we are integrating annotated Street View imagery into the Geocoding Destinations endpoint to provide a seamless visualization of the last meter.
Coming Soon: Annotated Street View imagery to never miss the right entrance again
Ready to get started?
This launch marks just the beginning of investing in new ways to help you make every trip better. To learn more about how you can incorporate destination details into your solutions, review the Geocoding API documentation. We wish you a smooth ride and cannot wait to see what you build!
