With billions of people around the world stuck inside their homes as part of social distancing guidelines issued by medical professionals, epidemiologists and the World Health Organization (WHO), Google Maps has started highlighting local restaurants and eateries that offer Takeaway or Delivery options.
As seen in the screenshots below, the app now has separate ‘Takeout’ and ‘Delivery’ buttons on the top of its home page, and tapping on either one reveals the addresses and locations of nearby restaurants that offer those options. The service also allows you to view the restaurant’s menu, timings and even customer reviews for these places.
Unfortunately, though, one cannot order food directly from the app in India because there’s no integration with services like Swiggy and Zomato. In the US, however, Google has been working with the likes of DoorDash, Postmates, Delivery.com, Slice and ChowNow, to enable users to order food via Maps and Assistant, so at least some of the listed restaurants linked with the aforementioned delivery services will be able to take direct orders.
Google doesn’t seem to have officially announced any details about the new feature, but if online reports are to be believed, users not only in India, but also in the US, France and Canada are reporting seeing the new options in their app. It’s available on both Android and iOS, and will very likely be rolled out globally, if it hasn’t been already. Do note that these are in addition to other coronavirus-related changes, such as shortcuts to Google Search and the company’ dedicated COVID-19 hub.
