Google’s live busyness information is expanding to cover more types of places and becoming a prominent fixture in Google Maps.
Live busyness information, a feature launched in 2016 by Google, informs users of how busy a location is expected to be at a given time. This data typically appears when individuals look for a specific place in Google Search or Maps.
Going forward, live busyness information will be displayed in Google Maps even when users aren’t searching for a specific place. Additionally, Google is broadening its coverage of live busyness information to millions of locations around the globe.
Here’s more about these updates, which are set to change how people interact with local search.
Live Busyness in Maps
The pandemic has transformed live busyness into an essential tool to help individuals stay safe and avoid crowds. This is evident in the increased engagement with live busyness features since the pandemic began.
“We saw engagement with these features rise 50 percent between March and May as more people tapped, scrolled, and compared data to find the best days and times to visit places.”
In response to growing demand for this data, Google is making it more accessible. Soon, live busyness information will appear in Google Maps without users needing to search for a place.
An example demonstrates how this feature works: Sephora is marked as “not busy,” Flores as “busier than usual,” and Starbucks as “As busy as it gets.” Therefore, if you’re out restocking on foundation at Sephora, it might be wise to skip the pumpkin spice latte.
Another example shows live busyness information surfacing in Maps after searching for directions.
Greater Coverage & More Useful Data
Since June 2020 alone, the global coverage of live busyness information has increased fivefold. Google’s expansion of live busyness includes outdoor areas such as beaches and parks, and essential places like grocery stores, gas stations, laundromats, and pharmacies.
In addition to being more widely available, Google is enhancing the usefulness of live busyness data during these unpredictable times for foot traffic. Google has traditionally relied on historical data to estimate how busy a place is likely to be. However, due to COVID-19, this data is no longer as reliable.
With social distancing measures in place and businesses altering their hours or temporarily closing, historical data isn’t as useful for estimating foot traffic. To address this, Google made adjustments to its popular times algorithms to utilize more recent data:
“To make our systems more nimble, we began favoring data from the previous four to six weeks to quickly adapt to changing patterns for popular times and live busyness information–with plans to bring this approach to other features like wait times soon.”
Google notes that, at times, it can even detect spikes in busyness in real-time and display it as “Live” data in Google Maps.
Other Updates to Maps & Local Search
To help people find the most up-to-date information on businesses, Google has been using Duplex conversational technology to call businesses and verify their information on Maps and Search.
Since April 2020, this technology has helped make over 3 million updates, including updated hours of operation, delivery and pickup options, and store inventory information for in-demand products. Google is surfacing this vital health and safety information, provided directly by businesses, prominently on Maps and Search.
To date, these updates have been viewed more than 20 billion times.
Sources: Google Blog
