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Google Expands AI Integration with "Ask Maps" for Q&A

February 4, 2025 /
All industries  /   Algorithm Updates 

Google took another step in incorporating AI into all its services, with its latest attempt appearing to be a Google Q&A enhancement. For those unaware, Google Q&A is a feature incorporated into all Google listings, allowing users to ask any question about a business and have it answered by the public or the listing owner. These are often used for hyper-specific queries, such as whether there is window seating or anything else that could not be ascertained at a glance. Many business owners also ask themselves questions and answer them, effectively creating an FAQ within their listing. Google Q&A has been a great feature for optimising for highly specific Google queries, and it now looks like Google is hoping to enhance this feature even further.

The new AI feature is titled “Ask Maps about this place”. This feature was announced in October of last year but has only recently become publicly visible. In an effort to reduce reliance on volunteered information from the public and business owners, Google’s AI will attempt to scrub reviews, the business website, and other sources for any unique details it can find. Users will hopefully be able to immediately tell if a listing offers parking, if a restaurant was formerly a bank, or any other hyper-detailed information it can uncover.

It has been proposed that this feature may replace Google Q&A entirely, but this recent AI tool is too new to determine whether that would be viable. Google’s AI Overview is already notoriously inaccurate, and this new feature may encounter similar issues. Only time will tell whether “Ask Maps about this place” will work alongside Q&A, replace it, or if Google will ultimately abandon the AI tool altogether.