Google Address Autocomplete

Google Address Autocomplete adds Google Places suggestions to native PrestaShop address forms. It fills address1, postcode, city and, where a matching option exists, the native state or province select after a selection. The module is free; Google bills the merchant’s own account for use. The steps below configure the merchant’s key, not a shared service account.

Quick start

1. Open Google Cloud Console and create or select a project for the shop.
2. Link that project to your billing account and enable billing.
3. In the API library, enable Maps JavaScript API and Places API (New) for the same project.
4. Create an API key in that project’s credentials area.
5. Set the application restriction to Websites / HTTP referrers. Allow the actual shop origin, for example https://shop.example/*. Add the www variant only if the shop actually uses it. Include the back office origin if it differs and needs suggestions. Avoid an unrestricted wildcard for all websites.
6. Restrict the key’s APIs to Maps JavaScript API and Places API (New). Save the restrictions. This is a public browser key; restricting it is part of setup, not a way to hide it.
7. Upload and install the module ZIP in PrestaShop. Open Configure in Module Manager, or the Google Address entry in the back office menu, select the shop if needed, paste the key into Google Maps API key, choose the form switches and save.
8. Merge the Google origins into your existing CSP where required, and explain the Google connection in your privacy notice.
9. Test a selected suggestion and manual entry in the account, guest checkout, separate invoice form and Customers > Addresses. Check the native new-order address window on the version you use. Try another country and phone width, then inspect browser errors and your Google account’s usage.

Features

• Street suggestions. Google Places results in native account and checkout forms, including guests.
• Filled together. Street, postcode and city from the selected suggestion, plus state or province when a native option matches.
• Selected country. Searches follow the destination chosen in the address form.
• Back office. Address assistance for staff on the native customer address page.
• Everyday entry. Phone, keyboard and screen-reader access, with manual entry retained.
• Your Google account. A free module with separate form switches; Google usage is billed to you.

Configuration options

For the single Settings page, open Configure in Module Manager, or the Google Address entry in the back office menu. It contains Configuration, Integrity, License, Update and Support sections; the controls below are in Configuration.

• Suggest addresses while the customer types: overall switch.
• On the address form in the customer account: native account address entry.
• On the checkout address forms (guests and separate invoice addresses included): native checkout, guests and separate invoice addresses.
• On the address form in the back office (customer addresses, new orders): Customers > Addresses, including a new-order address window served by that page.
• Use for these countries: leave empty to suggest addresses in every country, or choose the countries Google answers. Where another address module also covers a country, the module limited to a list of countries answers there. The page warns when two enabled address modules both cover every country.
• Google Maps API key: the merchant’s public browser key.

The switches default to on. Google suggestions still stay off until a key is saved. Clearing the key stops the Google adapter; it does not remove the ordinary address form. Saving checks the format of the key, not whether Google accepts it. There is no live key-test button on this settings page.

In multishop, select a single shop you are allowed to manage. Settings are saved for that shop. The main switch and each form switch work together: turning checkout off leaves enabled account and back office suggestions available.

The page includes coverage, billing, privacy and CSP notes. English is the source language; German, French, Polish, Italian and Spanish settings strings are supplied. This language list describes the module’s settings, not a promise of address data in every language.

Customization examples

Start with staff address entry

Keep the overall and back office switches on, with account and checkout off. Save a properly restricted Google key, then open Customers > Addresses and try an address in the selected country. Enable the customer-facing forms when their own tests are complete. These switches change locations, not the countries you sell to.

Allow Google in a Content Security Policy

If your shop sends a Content Security Policy, add Google's origins to your existing directives. The module loads Google's script from https://maps.googleapis.com and asks for suggestions and for the chosen address through https://maps.googleapis.com and https://places.googleapis.com. The Google SDK can also load dependencies from https://maps.gstatic.com without displaying a map. The example below covers only the sources named in the module; extend your existing policy for the SDK dependencies actually loaded. Keep your other sources and check the browser console while you test suggestions. With French Address Autocomplete enabled as well, also add https://data.geopf.fr to connect-src.

script-src 'self' https://maps.googleapis.com;
connect-src 'self' https://maps.googleapis.com https://places.googleapis.com;

Retain apartment and delivery details

Enter an apartment or floor on address line two, then choose a suggestion. The second line remains unchanged. Check that a result without a house number is completed before saving. No setting makes the suggestion compulsory, and there is no automatic address validation on submission.

Installation

Requirements

• General PrestaShop range: PS 1.6 – 9.x. The declared exact minimum is PrestaShop 1.6.1.0; PHP 7.1 or later is required.
• Native address fields and a theme using Bootstrap 3, 4 or 5 for the supported dropdown presentation.
• Your own Google Cloud project, billing account and browser key. Google usage is billed to you.

If another address module loads an older engine that keeps suggestions off, update the module named on this module’s settings page.

A syntactically accepted key does not prove that the APIs, billing and referrers are configured correctly. If another module has already loaded Google Maps with importLibrary, this module reuses that loader. Its key also needs Places API (New) enabled. Check that existing integration rather than assuming the key saved here replaces it.

How it works

Suggestions start after 3 characters and a 300 ms pause, with up to 5 results. These are built-in values, not settings. Google receives suggestion searches while someone types; the “one details request” statement does not mean one Google request for the whole visit. If a request takes longer than 600 ms, “Searching addresses…” appears beneath the street field.

The adapter uses AutocompleteSuggestion.fetchAutocompleteSuggestions and an AutocompleteSessionToken. Only selecting an item calls toPlace() and one fetchFields({fields: ['addressComponents']}). A new token starts for the next search session. This describes the code, not a guaranteed Google billing category or rate. There is no details request for every item merely shown in the list.

What happens when someone chooses a suggestion

The country stays as selected, and an apartment, floor or entrance already entered on the second line stays intact. Names, company details and telephone numbers are left alone. Customers remain free to edit the result before saving, so the suggestion helps with typing without taking control of the address.

Which countries receive Google suggestions

The module follows the country chosen in the address form and requests Google Places suggestions for that destination. It works with the countries the shop offers rather than a fixed French-only list. Changing the country changes the search. The results depend on Google’s address data and service availability, so not every street or house number is guaranteed to appear. Addresses in Japan and Hong Kong also fill, using administrative areas or sublocality for the city when needed; Hong Kong has no postcode.

A shop that runs several address modules decides which one answers each country with Use for these countries, for example a UK address service for the United Kingdom and Google everywhere else. A module limited to a list of countries answers there first, so French Address Autocomplete keeps its French destinations. Left empty, Google suggests addresses in every country.

Where does the back office team receive help

Staff entering a customer address in Customers > Addresses get suggestions in the native street field too. The module fills street, postcode and city, plus state or province when a native option matches, helping with addresses entered after a telephone enquiry or while preparing an order. The back office switch is separate from the customer account and checkout switches, so you choose where the assistance belongs.

How does the list work on phones and with a keyboard

On a phone, the customer taps a suggestion beneath the street field. On a keyboard, the arrows move through the list and Enter selects the highlighted result. Escape or Tab closes it without choosing an address. The dropdown follows the theme’s presentation, keeping the assistance beside the fields people are already completing.

Requests, saved addresses and privacy

The browser loads Google Maps using the public key. Suggestion calls explicitly send the typed street text, selected country, page language and session token. A selection identifies the chosen place and requests its address components. Google receives the visitor’s IP through the connection and may receive browser/referrer information according to browser policy.

The module does not explicitly include customer name, email, telephone, company or address line two in these lookups. It does not proxy searches through the shop or store search text and results in its own tables. This does not say Google stores nothing. Saving the address afterwards remains PrestaShop’s normal operation. Add the transfer to the shop’s privacy notice; installing the module does not settle consent or other privacy obligations.

The list displays Google Maps attribution. Optional engine diagnostics record technical status, provider, country, timing and result count, not the typed address. They do not turn this module into an address-history tool.

Honest limits

• Google account required. The free module does not include Google service usage. Billing, enabled APIs and correct website restrictions remain the merchant’s responsibility.
• Coverage is not completeness. Searches follow the selected country. Google may have no result, an incomplete house number, no postcode or no usable street/city components.
• Native forms. Custom checkout or address windows and non-Bootstrap themes need their own checks. The new-order integration targets the address window served by AdminAddresses.
• Manual entry stays. Suggestions do not validate the submitted address or guarantee delivery. Customers check and complete the destination.
• Preserved values. The second address line, name, company, telephone and selected country stay unchanged.
• Delayed results. A country change, changed field values, missing required fields or a value longer than the form permits can stop a delayed fill. Complete the form by hand.
• External service. Network errors, browser policy and account configuration can stop suggestions. There is no automatic switch from a failing BAN request to Google.
• Shared settings. When Checkout Revolution uses this shared address engine, it uses the same per-shop settings for this service.
• No map or location request. No coordinates are requested or stored by this module. A shared script may belong to a different integration on the same page.
• Billing classification. Session tokens and the requested field are verified in source. Current Essentials classification and session-pricing eligibility are not established by this documentation. Check Google’s current terms in your account; no rates or credits are promised.

Troubleshooting

• No suggestions: check the overall and form switches, then the saved browser key. Enable Maps JavaScript API, Places API (New) and billing in its Google Cloud project; check that the HTTP referrer restrictions allow the actual shop and back office origins used.
• CSP blocks requests: merge the measured Google sources shown under Customization examples into the existing policy. Check the browser console for blocked requests; the example is not a complete replacement policy.
• Google error in the console: read the browser's Google error and check the key, enabled APIs, billing and referrer restrictions. If the page already loads Google Maps with importLibrary, check that loader's key too. Saving the module key only checks its format.
• Country or address not covered: check the selected country in the form. Google data and availability determine the results; a country offered by the form does not guarantee every address is covered. Continue with manual entry if no result matches.
• No postcode returned: Google may return an address without a postcode, including in countries without postcodes. The postcode field can stay empty; check and complete the address manually where a postcode is required.