place autocomplete api

The Places Autocomplete API is a service that suggests place names/addresses as a user types.

If you mean Google Places Autocomplete, here’s the quick overview:

What it does

• Returns predicted locations from partial input
• Commonly used for:
  • addresses
  • cities
  • landmarks
  • businesses

Typical flow

1. User types "1600 Amph"
2. API returns suggestions like:
   • 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA
3. User selects one
4. You fetch full place details using the place ID

Main request types

• Autocomplete: get suggestions
• Place Details: get full info for a chosen place

Example request

https://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/place/autocomplete/json?input=1600+Amph&key=YOUR_API_KEY

Important parameters

• input: text typed by user
• key: your API key
• types: restrict results, e.g. geocode, address, establishment
• components: bias by country, e.g. country:us
• locationbias / locationrestriction: bias or limit results near an area

Example response

{
  "predictions": [
    {
      "description": "1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA, USA",
      "place_id": "ChIJ2eUgeAK6j4ARbn5u_wAGqWA"
    }
  ],
  "status": "OK"
}

Common notes

• You usually need to enable Places API in Google Cloud
• Billing is typically required
• Autocomplete is often paired with a session token to reduce cost

If you want, I can also give you:

• a JavaScript example
• a React example
• a Python example
• or help with Google Maps vs Mapbox autocomplete