Google Maps Strategy to Stay the Market Leader as Rival Navigation Apps Emerge

At the start of a Google product manager interview, you are asked which Google product is your favorite. You pick Google Maps, and the interviewer turns that into a strategy question: imagine you sit on the board responsible for Google Maps. Several competing apps are entering the market (the interviewer gives Waze as an example). What strategy would you put forward to keep Google Maps dominant? ```hint Find what a rival cannot copy Before proposing features, work out why someone would leave Maps for a newcomer, and which of Maps' strengths a newcomer could not rebuild quickly. A defense that a rival can copy within a few months will not hold. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Is the competition already showing up in our numbers (users leaving, lower engagement, lost share in a region or segment), or is this a preventive plan? - Google has owned Waze since 2013. Should I treat Waze as the example of a community-driven, real-time traffic app and focus on outside rivals with that kind of appeal? - Which users matter most to the board: daily commuters and drivers, travelers exploring a new place, transit riders, or the businesses listed on Maps? - What time horizon should the strategy cover, and is monetization through local ads in scope, or should I focus on usage? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A diagnosis of the threat: which kinds of competitors are emerging, which user needs they serve better, and what would make users switch. - An honest view of Maps' durable advantages and of where those advantages are eroding. - A small number of strategic bets tied to specific user segments, prioritized with explicit criteria that include how hard each one is to copy. - Success metrics that show whether the lead is holding, with at least one guardrail. - Risks and trade-offs, such as privacy concerns, regulatory scrutiny of how Google promotes its own services, overlap with Waze and feature bloat. ### Follow-up Questions - A rival launches with the promise that it keeps no location history. How do you respond without weakening the data that makes Maps accurate? - Six months in, which single metric would tell the board whether the strategy is working? - Regulators limit how Maps can be promoted inside Search and Android in a large market. What changes in your plan?