How it works

A time machine for places.

TimeMachine lets you pick a year and look around real Google Street View imagery from that time. Pick a year, click a hotspot or drop a pin, and drag to look around the panorama. The real Google imagery is always the core of the experience — AI features sit alongside it to add context, never to replace it.

1 · Pick a year

Slide from 2007 to 2025. The map updates to show where Google captured Street View imagery that year.

2 · Explore the map

Pan the world, tap a hotspot, drop a pin anywhere, or type a place and year into the search bar. Every marker is a real Street View location.

3 · Look around

The panorama opens for that exact spot and year. Drag to look around, switch viewpoints, and watch the place change as you scrub the year.

AI features

TimeMachine includes a few optional AI features that run alongside the real Street View imagery. Every piece of AI text is clearly labeled. These features are:

Natural-language search — type “Times Square 2011” and the explorer drops the pin and sets the year.
AI context — a short, grounded note about the place and year, generated on tap or first open.
What changed? — a bullet comparison of two years for the same place.
Ask about this place — a slide-out chat scoped to the current place and year.

AI text is grounded in general, well-known history — it does not analyze the Street View image itself, and it can be wrong. Treat it as a starting point, not a source. When the AI is unsure it says so. If something looks off, use the “Report an issue” link on any AI panel.

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