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Google Maps is integrating Gemini into more features across its ecosystem. Users can now plan routes by chatting with the chatbot and use nearby landmarks or businesses for navigation.
In 2024, the app was updated with Immersive View, allowing users to ask questions about nearby businesses and activities. Now, Google is bringing AI into the core functions of Maps — route planning and navigation.
“We’ve always envisioned using Maps as if you had a co-pilot who knows everything sitting next to you,” said Amanda Moore, Google Maps’ Product Director. The chatbot will provide the right information at the right time, helping drivers stay calm while on the road."
Users can now ask open-ended questions to Gemini directly within Google Maps. The system combines the app’s geographical data with local information to deliver relevant answers about nearby businesses or potential destinations — for example, suggesting restaurants along a specific route and adjusting the trip accordingly.
In addition, users can report incidents such as traffic accidents, receive summaries of recent events, news, or emails while traveling. Gemini can also access other Google apps, such as Calendar, allowing users to add event reminders to their schedules.
Travelers can now recognize locations more easily through familiar landmarks such as gas stations, restaurants, or iconic buildings. This feature relies on AI’s ability to process billions of Street View images and match them with a live database of 250 million verified locations.
For frequent routes, a proactive traffic alert system monitors the path in the background and warns drivers about upcoming incidents such as crashes, construction, or road closures. The system alerts early so users can reroute and avoid delays.
Finally, users can now use Google Lens directly inside Maps to identify landmarks or nearby businesses. Simply point the camera at a location, and Gemini will provide detailed information about it.
Google assures that “hallucinations” won’t occur, since Gemini’s navigation features are built entirely on Google’s real-world data, meaning the chatbot cannot invent nonexistent stops.
These new features will be available for free to all signed-in users and will roll out gradually across Android, iOS, and vehicles with built-in Google systems in the coming months.
