Google Search, Maps, And Assistant Now All Help You Find Food Delivery

Finding something to eat is difficult enough without having to browse through the various services that would like to deliver it to you. There are a lot of them these days too, so Google is trying to streamline the food delivery process by surfacing new features in Search, Maps, and Assistant when you look for food, hopefully decreasing the time between that initial search and when it shows up at your door.

Now when you search for a restaurant or a type of cuisine, Search and Maps will sometimes show an "Order Online" button in your results. You can tap that button to begin an order that will be delivered by one of a variety of different services. For the moment, Google says, DoorDash, Postmates, Delivery.com, Slice, and ChowNow are supported through the Order Online button, with Zuppler and others being added soon.

Google says that when ordering from "participating restaurants" (which is fairly vague), you'll be able to craft your order with just a few taps. What's more, you'll be able to view delivery or pickup times and pay for your order using Google Pay.

The process of ordering food from one of those participating restaurants seems pretty straightforward. After searching for a restaurant and tapping the "Order Online" button, you'll be asked to confirm whether the order is for delivery or pickup and, if its the former, to pick your delivery service. From there, you'll be able to browse the menu and add items to your order, then at checkout you'll be presented with a form that confirms the delivery time, address, and even allows you to add a tip.

If you'd rather not involve touchscreens at all, you can simply ask Google Assistant to order food from a specified restaurant by saying "Hey Google, order food from [restaurant]." If you're ordering from a place you've ordered from before, you can also ask the Assistant to reorder food from that location and pick a dish from a list of what you've had delivered in the past. This functionality is rolling out today in Search, Maps, and Assistant, so be sure to take it for a spin the next time you don't feel like cooking.