Addresses in many countries, including India, have a unique format. The components of an address—house number, area name, road name and landmark—can make it more challenging to explain and locate. Address Descriptors help reduce these complexities by returning the most relevant landmarks and area names relative to the geocoded point, which makes it easier for users to find an address. We launched Address Descriptors to Tier 1 metros, such as Mumbai and Hyderabad, last year in the Reverse Geocoding API. We’ve now expanded coverage to both the Reverse Geocoding API and Forward Geocoding PlaceID Lookup across India, including Tier 2-4 metros such as Agra and Udaipur. 

Address Descriptors provides an intuitive way of communicating addresses

People in India commonly identify addresses relative to a landmark, area name, or dropping a location pin on Google Maps and sharing it. Address Descriptors replicates this by building a landmark field into the address form to identify more detailed information about an address. With Address Descriptors, developers can save time, reduce errors, and deliver a more intuitive customer experience. For example, imagine how much easier it would be for a driver to find the delivery location if they had more local context. Or, you could improve account verification and activation for new customers by providing in-app access to describe their address with relevant landmarks.

Machine learning signals power Address Descriptors response

Address Descriptors use machine learning signals based on proximity, prominence, and visibility. The API can return up to 5 options for landmarks, ranked in order of relevance, by taking into account the proximity to the requested coordinate, the prevalence of the landmark and its visibility from the street. It can also return up to 3 options for areas, including area types, such as neighborhoods, sub-localities and complex compounds. Areas that contain the requested coordinate are listed first and ordered from smallest to largest. The Address Descriptors feature helps communicate addresses through Google Maps Platform’s Places Reverse Geocoding API at no additional cost.

Additional integrations with Maps JavaScript API, Forward Geocoding PlaceID Lookup, and Jetpack Compose component

Address Descriptors are now available in the Maps JavaScript API and Forward Geocoding PlaceID Lookup for additional ways to retrieve addresses or coordinates. We are also launching a visual address Descriptors Jetpack Compose component that will help developers, especially start-ups, build faster and support use cases that were requested by mobility startups. These include Landmark and Area Name Selection, Visual Address Descriptors, Landmark-Based Address Textual Output.

Address Descriptors is now available in preview throughout India. We hope this increased coverage will make it easier for developers in India to build more intuitive experiences for customers. Read the documentation to learn more. 

For more information, visit our Google Maps Platform for India page and watch our videos, which are available with Hindi audio and subtitles.