Google has just announced that it has just acquired Zagat and it will be using this trove of restaurant and venue information as the cornerstone of its local offerings.
If you remember, Google tried to buy Yelp a while back but the deal fell through for some reason (some say Yelp wanted too much cash) and Google would up using some Yelp data for Places anyways. Yelp didn’t like this and Google moved toward other sources but, to be honest, this wasn’t really that good or useful.
With Zagat, Google’s location-based services should get a major boost. Just imagine how much better Google Maps or Places could be with stronger restaurant information. I know that when I’m traveling and looking for a bite to eat, I’ll whip out the Yelp app to find something good around me. I’ve never used Google products for this same purpose but that may change in the near future.
Even with the full weight of Zagat, I’m still inclined to use Yelp but I’ll definitely give Google’s products a chance once this is rolled out.
[Via Google Blog]