Google Maps Recommend Destinations Based on User's History

At what point will advertisers be permitted to influence Google's recommendations - and then further down the road, what's to prevent Google from penalizing those who don't follow its suggestions? JL

Alistair Barr reports in the Wall Street Journal:

It is part of a broader push by the company to answer questions, proactively, rather than waiting for people to type a search query into a white box online.This is in response to users switching online activity to smartphones, which are harder to type on than personal computers but provide more data for Google to make useful predictions.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is using its Android mobile operating system and algorithmic smarts to predict users’ wants and needs.
The latest example: a new Maps app feature called Driving Mode that suggests destinations and times to reach those locations without users selecting a place to go.
Google does this by analyzing the places you’ve already been, your home and work locations (either stored by users in the Maps app or inferred by repeat visits) and searches for destinations in the app or on the company’s general search engine that a user has done within the past hour.
Armed with this data and other information like the time of day, Google Maps suggests destinations unprompted. So if a user searched for a local hardware store 30 minutes ago and then launched Maps to begin driving, Google would show the way to that retail establishment and estimate how long it will take to get there.
It is part of a broader push by the company to answer questions, proactively, rather than waiting for people to type a search query into a white box online.
This is in response to users switching online activity to smartphones, which are harder to type on than personal computers but provide more data for Google to make useful predictions.
Google Now, a digital personal assistant launched in 2012, uses data from emails, calendars and smartphone locations to make suggestions and send reminders for several years. Google is integrating this “push” technology into its main mobile search app. The Driving Mode feature will be included in an updated version of the Google Maps app that will be released in coming days.