Google Maps is updating the Contribute tab to surface recent photos and videos from a user’s device, speed captioning and make contributor impact easier to spot, the company said in a company blog post.
The first change highlights local media from your phone when you enable media access in settings, letting users tap and post images directly from the Contribute tab. “All you have to do is tap and post,” Google said in a company blog post; photo and video recommendations are available globally on Android and will expand to iOS in the coming months.
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Caption drafting will be powered by Gemini, Google’s artificial intelligence models, which analyze selected images and suggest editable captions. Caption suggestions are available now in English on iOS in the U.S. and will expand globally and to Android in the coming months, the company said.
Google Maps is also updating contributor profiles and badges to show total points and Local Guide levels more prominently, refresh achievement icons and introduce gold-colored profiles to highlight high-level contributors. These visibility and recognition features are rolling out globally across Android, iOS and desktop.
The recap
- Three new contributor features simplify sharing and contributor recognition
- Community has over 500 million contributors across platforms
- Caption drafts use Gemini artificial intelligence, expanding in months