Google Maps Pilots Letting You Follow Local Guides for Recommendations

With nifty updates and additions, Google Maps has been evolving since quite some time and now the company is working towards adding a new functionality that would let users to follow Local Guides for recommendations. You will then be able to see the Local Guide's recommendations on Google Maps. The feature would be exceptionally useful when you're in a new city. For the time being, the new feature is being currently piloted in nine cities including Delhi, San Francisco, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Bangkok, London, New York, Osaka, and Mexico City.

"Across 24,000 cities and towns, we now have an active community of 120 million Local Guides on Google Maps who are passionate about sharing their experiences by contributing reviews, photos, lists and more. If you're in Bangalore, Melvin John is a Local Guide whose reviews and recommendations will guide you through the city's microbrewery scene. And if you've used Google Maps in Tokyo, Ayaka Ohkawa's popular photography has probably helped you explore the city's landmarks, cuisine and culture," the blog post introducing the follow Local Guides feature notes.

Users will be able to find top Local Guides guides in the For You section of the Google Maps app, from where you can follow them. Once you follow them, Google Maps will start showing suggestions by the guides.

In addition to providing smart recommendations based on places you rate and visit, you'll now be able to follow pre-selected Local Guides and discover new locations thanks to their reviews. The connoisseurs are picked based on how active they are on Maps and the number of posts on the platform, Google explained in a support page on Saturday.

"By highlighting these Local Guides and their reviews, lists, and photos, we're exploring how we can make Google Maps a more helpful tool for discovering new places and experiences... So, if you live in one of the nine test cities, keep an eye on the For You tab of Google Maps. You just might discover something new with help from a friend in our community," the support page adds.

Last week, Google Maps rolled out an update that lets you take control over your profile picture and your bio.