New Google patent aims to offer free taxi rides for online shoppers to stores

Google is imaging a new method to entice online shoppers to head over to retail stores. The tech giant recently received a patent that is meant to develop means for online ads that can offer consumers free taxi rides to actual stores in order to avail certain promotions. According to The Verge, this concept can involve various software algorithms and even Google’s self-driving cars. A “get me there” button could appear near the ad and trigger a ride. However, the trick will be getting the right customer and not just someone who would just want to take a free ride to the store.

Google says in the patent filing, “The invention involves automatically comparing the cost of transportation and the potential profit from a completed transaction using a number of real-time calculations.”