Google Maps has a problem with search results that needs fixing right now

Whenever I visit a new country or navigate somewhere new, the first app I open on my Android phone is Google Maps.

It’s fast, reliable, and Google has been adding genuinely useful features to the app, such as Gemini integration for asking about places and immersive views of major landmarks.

However, after using Google Maps more extensively over the past few months, I’ve noticed one major issue with its search results on the app, and it’s about time Google fixed it.

Google Maps still shows places even when they’re closed

A search result is useless if you can’t actually visit the place

Picture this: you’re in a new area, and you want to find the best restaurants around you. You open Google Maps, find a place that suits your needs from the results that come up, and go to that place only to find it closed.

On my recent trip to Vietnam, this happened repeatedly: the top suggestions Google surfaced were closed at the time I searched. I’d end up walking or driving across the city to a place that looked great in the reviews, only to find the shutters down.

This is one of my (and other Reddit users’) biggest frustrations with Google Maps search results.

By default, Google Maps searches everything around you and shows you the best-rated places for that category, regardless of whether they’re open right then.

So if you’re looking for food, bike or car rentals, or even a park to walk through, unless you specifically check, there’s no guarantee the place will be open when you reach it.

This is even more problematic when you’re already on the road, navigating to a place, and searching for something along the route.

If Maps shows you great options that happen to be closed, the app isn’t doing its job in my opinion. And it’s not like people always remember to check the opening hours hidden below the listing.

Usually, when searching in Google Maps, the assumption is that search results are relevant at the moment you’re searching.

And yes, Google does show a tiny chip saying “Closed” or “Might be closed” when you start navigating, but it disappears in seconds. If you miss it, you don’t know until you’re physically there.

Allowing users to filter only open places is the fix we need

This simple toggle would save time and make Maps far smarter

The fix for this problem is ridiculously simple, and Google already has it. Google Maps has an “Open now” filter that solves the problem completely, but it’s tucked away above the search results and disabled by default.

Unless you remember to enable it, you’re stuck with the same cluttered results.

Why not let people set it as the default? Google already allows you to set preferences for vehicle type in navigation or dietary filters when searching for food.

Having an “Open now” option that is enabled by default makes just as much sense. This feature would save users a lot of unnecessary frustration and bring results closer to what people actually need at the moment.

Google can go one step further by using Gemini

Late-night searches should show open spots you’d actually visit

Plus, with the integration of Gemini, I believe Google can go one step further. The company should use AI models to show results based on context in Google Maps.

For example, if you’re searching for a restaurant at 11 pm, the app should show places that are open till late. Similarly, if it’s early morning, and you’re searching for coffee, it shouldn’t show a café that only opens after 10 am.

Gemini is already being built into Maps, so it’d be great to see Google use that AI power to refine search results in real time, based on both context and your habits.

Google should address this issue ASAP

Look, I love Google Maps. It is by far the best navigation app available on Android, in my opinion, but there are still many quirks present in the app that puzzle me every time I use it.

Thankfully, even if Google doesn’t add an “Open now” filter by default in Maps, there are many other ways I’ve customized my experience exactly to my liking — and I just can’t move on from the app to other alternatives now.