As we approach the summer holidays, Google is announcing travel updates that place it squarely in the travel planning process and give it a lot more insights into travel intent. Google is adding some cool new features to help people easily plan their vacations.
First up, Google is upgrading their question so you can now build trip plans just by asking! For example, if you say, “Plan a three-day trip to Philadelphia all about history,” Google will give you a sample schedule with fun history stuff to do each day, plus suggestions for flights and hotels. You can’t book directly from Google, but you can export the plan to your email or calendar, which is handy.
This new planning feature uses info from all over the web along with reviews and photos people shared with Google to come up with ideas. It’s pretty neat that you can get an itinerary made for you automatically. In the future Google may let you book through them directly, but for now the schedule maker is only available to some Search testers in the US.
Google Maps is getting better recommendations too. When searching for a city, you’ll see lists of top spots from guides like The Infatuation and other users. Maps will even show you top rated, trending and hidden gem restaurants in over 40 major US cities. Nice and easy to find new places that way!
Lastly, Google is making lists you create on Maps easier to use. You can reorder where things appear so your plans are in perfect order. Plus, you can link to social media posts about places. Overall, these travel tools should make vacation prep a breeze for folks this summer. Pretty groovy updates from Google to level up the trip-planning game!
