Google’s “Popular Times” feature is a handy way to see a general view of a the most popular times at a business. Now, Google’s showing that data in real time, giving you a glimpse of how packed a place might be right now.
The real time data is rolling out starting today. You’ll see that it’s active if you see a “Live” box next to the popular times when you search for a business. The data is based on location data and search terms, so it’s not perfect, but will at least give you a decent idea of whether or not you’ll easily find a place to sit at a bar or how packed a store might be. Alongside the real-time data comes some other info, including how long people stay at a location on average and hours by department, which is handy when a department like a pharmacy or deli close earlier the rest of a store.
Know before you go, with Google | Google