Tonight (the 6th), Miriam Daniel, Vice President and General Manager of Google Maps, announced a new round of upgrades to the AI-powered Ask Maps. It can now not only order food and find hotels based on users’ personalized needs, but also provide recommendations based on existing itineraries.
The multiple new features announced by Google today are designed to let users “get more things done more easily than ever” without leaving Google Maps.
The new agent features in Ask Maps can place food orders on users’ behalf while taking into account factors such as dietary requirements, current location, and saved places. Google gave the example that before leaving work, a user could say, “Order me a spicy seafood drunken noodle dish that I can pick up on my way home.” Ask Maps will look for restaurants along the route that are still open and serve that dish. Once the user selects a restaurant, the dish is automatically added to the cart, and the user only needs to complete payment to place the order.
When looking for hotels and local activities, users can also specify their preferred decor style and atmosphere, or make more detailed requests, such as requiring a hotel to be within walking distance of a gym, restaurant, or other facilities.
In addition, Ask Maps and the “Contribute” tab now support adding or modifying place information through conversation. After users upload photos such as storefront signs, Google Maps can identify information such as the latest business hours, which users can then review and submit.
The food-ordering, hotel and activity search, and conversational place-information editing features are now available in the United States and will gradually roll out to more countries.
Google Maps will also integrate Gemini-powered Personal Intelligence, which reads data from other Google apps to help Ask Maps provide answers that better fit each user’s circumstances.
For example, when a user checks an itinerary, the system can automatically take an upcoming flight or an already booked dinner into account. Personal Intelligence initially supports connecting to Gmail, but it will not be enabled by default. Other apps, such as Calendar, will be added soon.
Ask Maps is also adding real-time public transit information, allowing users to check whether the next bus, train, subway, or ferry is delayed. The real-time transit widget and more personalized answers are rolling out in all regions where Ask Maps is available.
According to IT Home, Ask Maps officially expanded to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, and Mexico today.