Does this situation sound familiar? You’re running out the door to an appointment and you realise you’ve forgotten to write down the directions ... you race back to the computer to look them up but in the stress of the moment you’re blanking on the name of the street other than that it starts with Oak-something ... and you just can’t remember the rest.

The new suggest feature in Google Maps is here to help you out, and get you to what you want faster and more accurately by showing search suggestions for the most relevant places, businesses and points of interest as you type. You’ll get the most useful suggestions depending on where you're zoomed into on the map.

For example, if you start typing ‘te’ when you’re zoomed into Auckland, Google Maps will suggest local streets and organisations.



The same search in Wellington will suggest local results, like Te Papa.


This feature will also help get you to other Google Maps features faster - for example, typing ‘rea’ will suggest real estate, and selecting that suggestion will take you straight into real estate search mode.

The search suggestions in Google Maps also include additional information, such as the address of the business or the district that a place is in. This extra information helps you find and select the exact business or location you're seeking.

So next time you’re running out the door and know you’re going to ‘Oak’ somewhere ... try letting Google Maps help you out with a few suggestions.

Posted by Andrew Foster, product manager