Google will let you directly search for dishes at nearby restaurants and adds more shopping features

Google is becoming a better place for restaurant browsing by letting you search directly for dishes, while Search is also set to get a slew of new shopping features.

Noting that “40% of people already have a dish in mind when they search for food,” Google will let you search for a dish and see where it’s available near you. A “Nearby dishes” carousel shows menu items that are located near you with a picture, price, and other details about the restaurant.

You can see results in a fullscreen grid that offers filters like “Spicy” and “Vegetarian.” Tapping on a result will give you the restaurant’s description for that dish, as well as photos from Google Maps.

Meanwhile, Google is boosting digital menus by “making them more visually rich and reliable.” There will be an image carousel of Highlights and prominent labeling for vegetarian and vegan options, with other dietary options coming soon. 

We combine menu information provided by people and merchants, and found on restaurant websites that use open standards for data sharing. To do this, we use state-of-the-art image and language understanding technologies, including our Multitask Unified Model.

Beyond menus, Google wants to provide you with a better idea of restraints before you visit by “using machine learning to analyze images and reviews from people (like you!) to find what makes a place distinctive.”

On the shopping front, typing “shop” followed by the item you’re looking for generates a visual feed of products, research tools, and nearby inventory. That feed includes sections like “Shop the look” for clothing that will surface “complementary pieces” and a Trending carousel. 

Google is also making it easier for merchants to offer a spinning 360-degree model by just taking a “handful of still photos (instead of hundreds).” 

Additionally, In the coming months, price drop updates will be available on a new page insights feature:

This new feature in the Google app brings together helpful context about a webpage you’re on or a product you’re researching, like its pros and cons and star ratings, all in one view.