Allie Margeson from Whitespark noticed that the Google local pack in the search results is no longer a static map. The map is now interactive and lets searchers zoom in and out, move the map around, hover over businesses to see the names and reviews and even click on the map to go to a specific local business.

I can replicate this myself, here is a GIF I made of it in action but this probably will show on the right side for you:

You were unable to interact like this with the map before – but now you can.

Allie summed it up nicely on Twitter:

This started to roll out on the 22nd:

I wonder how, if any, this will impact local searchers and the businesses they reach out to?

Forum discussion at Twitter.