# How to pull Google Maps places and reviews into your AI agent

By Alan Lui. Published 2026-09-13; last updated 2026-09-14. Page: https://apifare.com/blog/google-maps-places-and-reviews-for-ai-agents

Connect your agent to apifare and ask it to run the Google Maps Scraper from the catalog: give it a search term and one location, and it returns the places it finds. The Google Maps Reviews Scraper pulls a place's reviews. Both are ready to run on your apifare key, with no Google Maps account or API key of your own.

## Copy this line to your agent

```text
Use apifare to run the "Google Maps Scraper" tool with {"searchStringsArray": ["coffee shop"], "locationQuery": "Austin, Texas", "maxCrawledPlacesPerSearch": 20} and list the places with their ratings.
```

## What can my agent do with Google Maps data?

Build a list of local businesses to follow up on, compare ratings across a neighbourhood, watch what customers say about a place, or find every business of a kind near an address.

## What does the Google Maps Scraper take?

From its published input schema: `searchStringsArray` (search terms), `locationQuery` (one location per run), `maxCrawledPlacesPerSearch` (places per search term), `language`, `categoryFilterWords` (place categories), `placeMinimumStars` (a minimum star rating) and `website` (places with or without one). The full list is on the [tool's page](https://apifare.com/tools/compass/crawler-google-places).

## How do I get a place’s reviews?

The [Google Maps Reviews Scraper](https://apifare.com/tools/compass/Google-Maps-Reviews-Scraper) takes place URLs (`startUrls`) or `placeIds`, plus `maxReviews`, `reviewsSort` (for example `"newest"`), `reviewsStartDate` and `reviewsFilterString` to keep only reviews that mention a keyword.

## How do I build a local lead list with contact details?

The [Google Maps Email Extractor](https://apifare.com/tools/lukaskrivka/google-maps-with-contact-details) takes the same search inputs and adds contact details. For more from each business's own website, run the [Contact Details Scraper](https://apifare.com/tools/vdrmota/contact-info-scraper) on it. The [lead generation](https://apifare.com/use-cases/lead-generation) use case puts the whole setup together.

## How is a run priced?

A catalog run reserves a small amount up front, then settles to the run's true cost, never above a fixed ceiling; failed runs are refunded. Each tool's page shows the numbers, and the listed number is what your balance is debited.

## For agents: the exact calls

1. Find it: `search_apis` in `apifare-mcp`, or `GET https://apifare.com/v1/search?q=Google%20Maps%20Scraper` with `Authorization: Bearer $APIFARE_TOKEN`. Take the result named "Google Maps Scraper": it carries a `proxy_route` and the tool's `input_schema`.
2. Run it: `proxy_call` with that `proxy_route` and `{"searchStringsArray": ["coffee shop"], "locationQuery": "Austin, Texas", "maxCrawledPlacesPerSearch": 20}` (apifare-mcp over stdio), or POST the `proxy_route` over HTTP with that JSON as the body and the same header.
3. Several locations: one run per location, since the tool takes one location per run.
4. On HTTP 402 the balance is empty: relay the body's `human_readable` line to your human, wait for the top-up, then retry the same call. Every other error and its fix: [the error catalog](https://apifare.com/errors).

## For humans: set it up

1. **Connect your agent.** Paste `set up https://apifare.com/SKILL.md` into it: it gets a key ($5 of calls free), writes its own config and makes a first call. Or get a key at [/start](https://apifare.com/start?origin=blog) and follow your client's [setup guide](https://apifare.com/integrations).
2. **Ask.** `List coffee shops near <place> with their ratings`, or `Pull the latest Google Maps reviews for <business>`.

## Which tool for which job

| Job | Tool | Runs on |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Places for a search term in one location | [Google Maps Scraper](https://apifare.com/tools/compass/crawler-google-places) | ready to run |
| The reviews of a place | [Google Maps Reviews Scraper](https://apifare.com/tools/compass/Google-Maps-Reviews-Scraper) | ready to run |
| Places with emails and contact details | [Google Maps Email Extractor](https://apifare.com/tools/lukaskrivka/google-maps-with-contact-details) | ready to run |
| Contacts from each business’s website | [Contact Details Scraper](https://apifare.com/tools/vdrmota/contact-info-scraper) | ready to run |

More: [every lead generation tool in the catalog](https://apifare.com/tools/c/lead-generation)

## When this is the wrong tool

- **You need directions or travel times.** These tools return places and reviews, not routes.
- **You need several cities in one run.** The Maps Scraper takes one location per run, so run it once per location.
- **You need hotel prices or rentals.** See the [Booking.com](https://apifare.com/apis/booking-com) and [Airbnb](https://apifare.com/apis/airbnb) guides.
- **You need one business's website text.** Fetch it with [scrape](https://apifare.com/capabilities/scrape).

## FAQ

### Do I need a Google Maps API key?

No. Ready-to-run catalog tools run on apifare’s own supply credential; your apifare key is all you need.

### Can it search more than one city at once?

One location per run. Run it once per location; per-agent caps keep the total within the budget you set.

### Can it return only highly rated places?

Yes: set placeMinimumStars to the minimum star rating you want.

### How do I get only the newest reviews?

Set reviewsSort to "newest", or set reviewsStartDate to keep only reviews after a date.

### How is a run priced?

A run reserves a small amount, then settles to the run’s true cost, never above a fixed ceiling. Each tool’s page shows the numbers, and failed runs are refunded.

## Give this to your agent

`set up https://apifare.com/SKILL.md`: it takes it from there (key, config, first call). $5 of calls free.
No agent open right now? Get a key at https://apifare.com/start?origin=blog-google-maps, then give it to your agent (setup guides: https://apifare.com/integrations).