A new transportation service may be offered by Google as it combines its ad business with local transport options like taxis and possibly autonomous cars. Google was granted a patent for arranging free (or minimally priced) transportation to an advertiser's business location.
TechCrunch was able to get a copy of the patent granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to Google. Details of the patent reveal how the new service will work should it debut in the market. The patent was filed in 2011 by the same group who drafted the driverless car patent.
With the new service, stores can start offering not just discounts but also a free taxi ride to those interested in visiting the place.
The patented algorithm would consider things like user's current location, route and possible forms of transportation such as taxi, train, personal car, rental car or a shared vehicle to the advertiser's business location. Other things such as the user's daily agenda and "the price competing advertisers are willing to pay for the customers to be delivered to the alternate locations" are also considered.
Google aims to attract potential customers into a business much easier for stores located in far areas rather than investing in a more expensive but also more populated location. The algorithm can determine the best offers by asking for the customer's preferences along with the price that the advertiser is willing to pay.
The patent sees a bidding system where different advertisers compete for customers, just like other advertising options by Google. These bids are based on the buying history of the customers as well as other factors like which customers usually make use of transportation services to make purchases. The identification of the user can also help the advertisers choose to bid on having a car pick up customers and bring them back to their homes or elsewhere.
