- Google Maps just got two big updates rolling out today in the US.
- ‘Ask Maps’ is a conversational assistant that answers very specific questions
- Google also offers drivers the “biggest app update in over a decade”
The debate between Google Maps and Waze continues, but Maps just received two big updates that could help extend its lead as the world’s best all-round navigation app.
The first, called ‘Ask Maps’, is the Gemini-powered conversational experience for travelers that has felt inevitable for a few years. Google also calls its other new feature, called ‘Immersive Navigation’, its “biggest navigation update in over a decade.”
For pedestrians and commuters, the most interesting new feature is ‘Ask Maps’. This new tab sits very prominently below the app’s search box and is like a Gemini-specific version of Maps that can answer very detailed travel questions.
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Some example questions Google provided in a demo included “My phone is turning off. Where can I charge it without having to wait in a long line for coffee?” and “Is there a public tennis court with lights on that I can play on tonight?” In other words, this is more than just a repeat of existing Google Maps tabs and information – it could be very useful if it works as well as it does in the demos.
Google says ‘Ask Maps’ can also create complete travel itineraries based on its information from more than 300 million places and 500 million contributors. For example, you could say, “I’m headed to the Grand Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Coral Dunes. Any recommended stops along the way?”
A detail that could be controversial for some is that the results of ‘Ask Maps’ are personalized. They will be based on the places you have searched for or also saved on Google Maps.
But Google was keen to avoid any privacy concerns, with Miriam Daniel, vice president and general manager of Google Maps, saying in a briefing that it “is not linked to any of the other apps or any of your other data.” ‘Ask Maps’ is rolling out now in the US and India on Android and iOS, and will soon arrive on desktop; Google declined to comment on a global launch.
A ‘complete transformation’ of Maps navigation
If you’re a driver who regularly uses Google Maps to get around cities, then the new ‘Immersive Navigation’ mode might be more suitable for you.
As a cross between ‘Immersive View’ and traditional Google Maps navigation, the visual side of the update brings a new 3D view that adds transparent buildings and overpasses to give you more context, along with crosswalks, traffic lights, and more. Google says this view was pre-trained using Gemini and real-world information from Street View and aerial photographs.
‘Immersive navigation’ seems especially useful for urban driving, but there are functional changes too. Google says ‘smart zooms’ will help you plan ahead for tricky junctions, while voice navigation will apparently be more natural.
Google Maps will also give you more information about the pros and cons of alternative routes and you’ll also have the option to preview your destination with Street View images. This is another collaboration between Google that seems like it could have happened years ago.
The bad news for anyone living outside the US is that “immersive browsing” is just being rolled out in the United States today. It won’t initially reach everyone either, as Google promises it will “expand in the coming months to eligible iOS and Android devices, CarPlay, Android Auto, and cars with Google built in.”
Analysis: Impressive updates, but not for everyone
Both updates to Google Maps look very useful on paper, and rivals like Apple Maps may struggle to compete with their combination of new artificial intelligence and the wealth of information available in programs like ‘Ask Maps.’
However, there are still concerns that some will be left with alternative apps. For starters, we still don’t know how well ‘Ask Maps’ works in the real world. But some will also raise issues of trust and privacy.
When asked if ‘Ask Maps’ results could one day include ads or paid placements, Google didn’t rule it out. “I can’t really speculate on where we’re going long-term, although for now we’re really focused on providing the best possible ‘Ask Maps’ experience so that monetization and payment don’t impact where things appear within that experience,” said Andrew Duchi (product manager, Google Maps).
The customization aspect of ‘Ask Maps’ might also put off some users. Google said it doesn’t use information from other apps like Gmail to refine its results. “It focuses primarily on searches you’ve done in the past in Maps or specific searches for places you might be interested in. It focuses on things you’ve saved in Maps or as a list,” said Miriam Daniel (VP & GM of Google Maps).
This will be a fair trade-off for many, but others might still prefer the more traditional approach of Apple Maps, and many drivers still prefer Google-owned Waze over Google Maps. Speaking of which, Google added that its new route finding features use a combination of data from the Maps and Waze community.
“Behind the scenes, just like Gemini powers many of our capabilities, Waze and Google Maps have a shared driver community to bring real-time information to the map. So the two are working together in terms of the data we offer,” added Rosa Wu (product manager, Google Maps).
Whichever side of the privacy fence you fall on, we’ll be testing the two big Google Maps updates soon to give you our first impressions.
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