Google Maps will highlight popular dishes of restaurants

Google Maps has been serving its customers with various bits of important information for a while now. When you search for a restaurant, Google Maps displays photos, reviews, location, and ratings.

One thing — that we didn’t even realize that we wanted — has been missing, though: popular dishes.

Now, with the help of machine learning, Google Maps will also recommend a restaurant’s most popular dishes, so you will have some idea of what to order when you get there.

As the announcement said:

“Whether you’re craving a tea cocktail in Brooklyn or sampling Pacific Rim cuisine in London, Google Maps now highlights a restaurant’s most popular items on the menu, so you can place your order with confidence.”

The popular dishes of a restaurant will be highlighted within the overview tab of restaurant listings. The dishes will also be matched with relevant photos and reviews so potential customers can make an informed decision.

To access that, search for a restaurant on Google maps and select the ‘Overview’ tab. Scroll down to see the popular dishes that the restaurant has to offer. Click on any specific dish, and you will be able to find and read specific reviews for that dish.

GIF link: https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog-publish-prod/original_images/GSB_PopularDishes_v5.gif

The future of machine learning and online businesses

This new feature is a prime example of how machine learning is growing and having a more meaningful impact on online businesses. It is also an indication of how users may interact with businesses in the future and contribute to machine learning to make it even better.

Google highlighted the role customers can play to make machine learning even more powerful. It said:

“At the end of the day, this feature is made possible because of contributions from people around the world who want to help others using Google Maps. So if you want to pay it forward to the next diner, simply take a photo of your meal (before you’ve scarfed it down!) and add a dish name so others can know what’s good on the menu.”

This feature is already live on Android and will be rolling in iOS in the next few months.

GIF link: https://storage.googleapis.com/gweb-uniblog-publish-prod/original_images/GSB_PopularDishes_v5.gif