Objectives are a predefined set of optimization targets to help you express your goals in a frictionless fashion. They represent the most commonly needed KPIs such as minimizing travel distance, minimizing overall duration, and maximizing vehicle utilization. You can get started with the API using Objectives, before understanding the full spectrum of cost parameters the API provides that allows you to further customize your optimization outcomes. 

If you are a developer who has route optimization use cases and is relatively new to the API, we'd like to hear from you. Take a few moments to fill out the survey here.

Have you tried the Place Autocomplete Widget yet? You can use the Place Autocomplete Widget to embed a complete self-contained autocomplete user interface on your web page. It’ll help you create a text input field, supply place predictions, and return place details.

What’s new?

• Enhanced accessibility, including support for screen readers and keyboard interaction.

• Better support for mobile devices and small screens.

• Regional localization (including RTL languages), for the text input placeholder, predictions list logo, and the place predictions.

• Better performance and improved graphical appearance.

To get started, enable “Places API (new)” on your Google Cloud Project. Details here.

Did you know that Google Maps Platform is used by over 10 million websites and apps?

We’ve heard from users that they want access to more insights and data, which is why at Cloud Next we announced Geospatial Analytics. This is the first time we’re integrating new Google Maps Platform datasets, along with Earth Engine datasets directly into BigQuery where you can now:

• Access fresh global geospatial data without needing advanced remote sensing or GIS expertise.

• Integrate rich geospatial datasets into your existing data

• Analyze geospatial data as easily as you can with your other BigQuery datasets

The Weather API is now available as a Preview for developers. You’ll be able to find and display current weather conditions, forecasts, as well as historical weather data. This data can be used to help users plan trips and work through the challenges of extreme weather events. Don’t forget there's still time to help us shape the future of the Weather API. We’d love to hear from you!

We’re excited to introduce Grounding with Google Maps in Vertex AI. While we announced Grounding with Google Search in Vertex AI at last year’s Next, this year we announced an Experimental release of Grounding for testing in the US. Businesses in the US can now start augmenting LLM models using data from 20M+ places in the United States with just a few clicks in Vertex AI Studio. You’ll be able to:

• Improve accuracy of AI responses

• Quickly build geospatial-aware agents

• Provide targeted recommendations to users

• Create custom user experiences on your websites and apps

Google I/O will be held May 20-21 in Mountain View, California and available to tune into online for keynotes and livestreams. Our Next-gen Android experiences with Photorealistic 3D Maps technical session will go live 5/22.  And while the dates of I/O have been revealed, you can still play this year’s date reveal puzzle. Check out Prism Shift here.

Want to join in on all the fun? Register Now