Google Earth Celebrates 20 Years with Time-Travel Street View and AI Insights
June 24, 2025
Google Earth Pro will also incorporate Gemini-powered AI insights, enabling users to ask natural language questions about geographical data.
These updates reflect Google's commitment to integrating artificial intelligence into its products, enhancing the platform's functionality for professional users.
Alongside the time travel feature, Google Earth will also showcase its 3D timelapse functionality, which animates satellite data to illustrate changes in specific areas over time.
The new functionality enables users to see a yearly progression of images for specific locations, providing a visual narrative of changes from 2007 onwards.
Notable examples of these timelapse views include the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral's transformation from 1943 to its reconstruction after the 2019 fire, as well as urban changes in cities like Berlin, Las Vegas, and San Francisco.
In addition to historical imagery, Google Earth will soon introduce AI-driven insights for professional users, offering valuable data on tree canopy coverage and land surface temperatures to assist in urban planning.
This new historical imagery feature is expected to help both casual users and experts understand the impacts of climate change and human activities on various geographies.
Google is marking the 20th anniversary of Google Earth by launching a groundbreaking Street View integration feature that allows users to 'travel back in time' and view historical images of various locations.
Since its debut in 2005, Google Earth has gained immense popularity, achieving 100 million downloads in its first week and evolving through numerous significant updates.
Users can now access historical satellite photos dating back to 1993, although images prior to 2000 may be blurry and in black and white until 2003.
The platform's history includes significant milestones such as the 2006 launch of Street View and collaborations aimed at tracking climate change and endangered species habitats.
In the past year alone, Google Earth has been searched over 2 billion times, underscoring its ongoing relevance and utility for exploring diverse locations worldwide.
Summary based on 10 sources
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Sources

Google • Jun 24, 2025
Our favorite moments from 20 years of Google Earth
The Verge • Jun 24, 2025
Google Earth adds old Street View captures to rewind time from the street level
TechCrunch • Jun 24, 2025
Google brings historical Street View imagery to Google Earth