The predecessor of Google Maps was a flagship software developed by Keyhole, a digital mapping company. Google acquired Keyhole on October 27, 2004. Since June 2005, Google has been launching a series of software called Google Maps. Google Maps is an electronic mapping service provided by Google Inc. that includes detailed satellite photos of localized areas. On June 20, 2005, Google Maps expanded its coverage from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada to the rest of the world. On March 5, 2014 Google said that users in 22 cities in India have access to Google Maps maps of 75 popular indoor venues in the region, including Ambience Mall in Gurgaon and Select City Walk Mall in Delhi. On July 27, 2022, a Google executive said the company will partner with two Indian companies to launch Street View services there.

Users who rely on public transportation to get around may like this feature. Users simply enter the start and end points of their trips in the Google Maps search bar and then click on the public transportation icon on the map, and a white card will pop up in the search bar at the bottom of the map, showing the results of the transportation search. At the bottom of the card, users will see a link to more transit options and run times. Users can even see all the costs of a full train or bus ride. Another feature that really stands out is "reservations". When a user searches for a booked flight, hotel or restaurant, the card below the Google Maps search bar will be populated with a reading of the user's flight time, check-in time or meal time. However, users can only use this feature if they are logged into their Google account, and it only reads the schedule data from their Gmail inbox.