Google Maps is expanding Ask Maps with new AI capabilities that can help users order food, find hotels, discover events and receive real-time transit updates. Google is also adding Personal Intelligence, allowing users to connect Gmail so Maps can factor existing travel plans and reservations into its answers.
The update moves Ask Maps beyond answering questions about places and closer to completing multi-step tasks. Google first launched the Gemini-powered feature in March as a conversational way to search more than 300 million places and receive recommendations based on Maps data.
Ask Maps Can Now Help Order Food
Users can describe the exact meal they want and Ask Maps will search nearby restaurants that meet those requirements. It can also consider factors such as dietary preferences, saved places and whether a restaurant sits along the user’s route.
After a restaurant is selected, Ask Maps can add the requested food directly to a shopping cart. Users can review the order before completing the transaction through supported partners.
Food ordering is initially rolling out through Square and Toast, with Uber Eats support coming later. Google said it is also working with partners on the Universal Commerce Protocol for Food as it develops the service further.
Hotel and Event Search Gets More Detailed
Ask Maps can now compare hotel prices and availability while considering several requirements in one request. A user could, for example, search for a well-rated hotel near a conference that falls within a certain price range and sits close to restaurants and a gym.
Maps can similarly find nearby concerts, comedy shows and other events based on a user’s location and preferences. Results include links that allow users to purchase tickets through external providers.
Food ordering, hotel and event discovery, and conversational contributions are initially rolling out in the U.S. Google said additional countries will follow.
Personal Intelligence Connects Maps With Gmail
Google is also bringing Personal Intelligence to Ask Maps. Users can choose to connect Gmail, allowing the assistant to identify information such as upcoming flights, hotel bookings and dinner reservations without requiring those details to be entered again.
Someone with a hotel reservation and upcoming flight, for example, could ask what to do before leaving for the airport. Ask Maps can use details from the reservation to recommend nearby activities and suggest when to depart.
Gmail access is disabled by default and must be enabled by the user. Google said support for additional apps, including Calendar, is coming later.
Ask Maps can also remember previous conversations when history settings are enabled. Users can return to an earlier trip-planning discussion and ask Maps to retrieve recommendations it previously provided.
Live Transit Updates Expand
A new transit widget gives users real-time information about buses, trains, subways and ferries. Departure times automatically adjust when delays occur, allowing users to follow changing conditions without leaving Ask Maps.
The transit widget, conversation history and personalized responses are rolling out everywhere Ask Maps is available. Google has also expanded Ask Maps to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan and Mexico, alongside more than 150 countries and territories where the service is available in English.
Featured image credits: Newman Web Solutions
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.