Google Maps is about to change forever

Gemini Assistant added to Google Maps. Photo: Google .

Google Maps is integrating Gemini into more features in the ecosystem. Users can plan routes by chatting with the chatbot and use landmarks or nearby businesses to navigate.

In 2024, the app was updated with an Immersive View, allowing users to ask questions about nearby businesses and activities. Now, Google is bringing AI to core Maps functions, including route planning and navigation.

“We always envisioned using Maps as having a knowledgeable co-pilot by your side,” said Amanda Moore, product manager for Google Maps. The chatbot would provide the right information at the right time, making driving less stressful.

Users can now ask Gemini open-ended questions right in Google Maps, and the system combines the app’s geographic data with local information to provide answers related to potential businesses or destinations, such as suggesting restaurants along a specific route, and adjusting the route to the suggested destination.

Users can also report incidents like traffic accidents, get summaries of recent events, news, or emails while on the go. Gemini also has access to other Google apps, like Calendar, allowing you to add event reminders to your schedule.

Gemini can be activated by saying “Hey Google” or tapping the Gemini icon in the upper right corner of the screen. All of these features can be used within the Google Maps app.

“Gemini is connecting trusted sources of information from the web, community reviews, and all the rich spatial data that Maps owns,” said Vishal Dutta, product manager for Google Maps. Google is also using AI to improve voice navigation.

Users can more easily recognize familiar landmarks such as gas stations, restaurants or typical buildings. This feature relies on the ability to process billions of Street View images and compare them with a live database of 250 million recorded locations.

For regular trips, active traffic alerts monitor your route in the background and warn you of upcoming incidents like accidents, construction, or road closures. The system notifies you early so you can change directions and avoid delays.

Finally, users can now use Google Lens right in Maps to identify nearby landmarks or businesses. Simply point the camera at a location and Gemini will provide relevant details.

Google insists that the “illusion” problem won’t arise because Gemini’s navigation features are built on the company’s real-world datasets, so the chatbot can’t make up stops that don’t exist.

These new features will be available for free to all logged-in users, and will be rolled out gradually to Android, iOS, and Google-enabled vehicles in the coming months.

Source: https://znews.vn/google-maps-sap-thay-doi-mai-mai-post1600445.html