Google Maps adds color to help you hone in on points of interest

Google is rolling out a new look for Points of Interest (POI) on Google Maps. These are the little business location icons that pop up when you're browsing the map or viewing search results.

Google says it has updated Maps to "better highlight the information most relevant to each experience (think gas stations for navigation, train stations for transit, and so on)." You probably don't care about local gas stations when you're looking up subway locations, so Maps will be smarter about which icons it shows you.

Point of Interest icons and text will now be color-coded, with orange for food & drink, blue for shopping, red for health, and so on. The hope is that this will make it easier to pick out certain POI types on the map. The new POI design switches from a circle to a  "Pin" icon shape, too.

Google says the changes will roll out to "all Google products that incorporate Google Maps," like the Assistant, search, Earth, Android Auto, the Google Maps APIs, and all the usual Google Maps clients.