We don’t need to be reminded of that Google puts AI in everythingbut the latest push is probably one of the most interesting and immediately useful yet, as Google Maps has now entered the Gemini era.

Extensive experience

Before we jump into the many AI updates happening across all of Google’s “Geo” departments (the collective name for all mapping tools), it’s helpful to understand how rich Google’s location data already is. Collected over the last one 20 yearsGoogle’s mapping expertise is available in more than 250 countries and territories around the world, and Google Maps alone has more than 2 billion active users each month.

Google already uses AI in its mapping products, such as the Lens overlay in Maps’ AR mode, which puts live location information in front of you on the map. Google is now using AI to enhance the photo-realistic 3D tour Immersive viewa feature first launched last year with live location data including weather, parking and turn-by-turn information. Immersive View is now scheduled to launch in 150 cities this week and will also include university campuses.

While useful, it’s in Google Maps where AI and Google Gemini are likely to have the biggest impact. A new feature called Ask Maps lets you use the search bar for more complex questions, like asking about things to do in a city, and Gemini will return a curated list of ideas and suggestions. Further down the results page, Gemini will summarize user reviews, and you’ll be able to ask additional questions about granular details like whether a location is quiet or noisy.

Driving with Maps and Waze

The Ask Maps feature leverages another strength of Google Maps, as there are over 500 million contributors and publishers and over 100 million map updates daily. It creates a vast, real-time database that Gemini can pull from when you’re looking for the latest information, in addition to using web sources. Don’t worry, the recaps will be balanced so you’ll be able to see what’s good and what’s bad.

Ask Maps will launch in the US this week and joins navigation updates. Building on its successful crowdsourcing system, drivers using Maps will be able to add real-time information about any weather disruptions. Another new feature, Enhanced Navigation, examines a planned route and can make recommendations about where to stop along the way, while expanding information about lane details, restrictions, crosswalks and more. When you arrive, Maps will highlight parking options and prompt you to save your location when you pull up.

The enhanced navigation suite will roll out to 30 US cities in November, while the Explore and weather reporting system will be available globally this week. Waze owned by Google will also begin testing a new reporting system that will use Gemini for conversational voice control. For example, you can verbally tell Waze that there’s a double-parked car holding you up, and Waze will add an alert on the map that there’s an object blocking the road for others to note. Waze also shares this data, along with the information it brings in from city partners, through other Google Geo products. It will first be released as a beta product to trusted testers globally, with a wider release expected early next year.

The twins already did replaced Google Assistant on many Android smartphones and is widely used in other Google products, from Google Drive to Gmail. Not all of its functionality is immediately helpful to everyone, but Gemini in Maps looks to be one of the more interesting additions that many will find a way to try using quickly.