Google is preparing to integrate artificial intelligence into Google Maps, the company’s flagship navigation program, one of its most well-known and established products. In an apparent attempt to counter recent AI developments by Apple, one of Google’s biggest rivals, the company’s generative AI chatbot, Gemini, will soon be a common feature of Maps.
Google’s parent firm, Alphabet, said in a news statement on October 31 that it is “transforming Maps with the power of Gemini models, helping you get answers to complex questions about the world.” Although AI has already “helped us build new experiences for over a decade,” the business claims that it will now play a largely new role in Maps.
How will the new AI features be used in Google Maps?
The most significant change is that users will be able to interact with Maps using Gemini’s chatbot capabilities. This implies that consumers can “converse with Google Maps to ask for tips on things to do around specific spots in a neighborhood or city and receive lists of restaurants, bars and other nearby attractions that include reviews that have been compiled through the years,” according to The Associated Press.
According to Reuters, “open-ended search queries, such as ‘things to do with friends at night in Boston’ or ‘fun fall activities in Seattle,'” are among the new questions that can be asked of Maps. formerly “respond to such queries with more generic results that are not as accurate,” whereas the “updated app will show more tailored options like a list of speakeasies or live music venues.”
“Information about parking options near a designated destination, along with walking directions for a user to check after departing the car,” per the AP, will also be provided by the Gemini chatbot. To make navigating new places easier, maps will also prominently display additional road signs and crosswalks.
“With the addition of conversational reporting,” Waze, another Google-owned navigation business, will also “benefit from AI-enhanced natural language processing,” according to Ars Technica. Along with other generative AI features, this means “no more scrabbling to hit the right icon on your phone to report that tire in the middle of the highway or the traffic cop hiding behind a bush.”
How will Google be able to compete with this?
Google continues to lead the navigation app market. According to a recent announcement from the firm, Maps has over 2 billion monthly users, significantly more than Apple Maps. But according to Bloomberg, “Google can’t afford to stand still,” while Apple has made significant strides in AI in recent months.
According to TECHnalysis Research analyst Bob O’Donnell, tech companies are “racing to build digital assistants that can guide users as they go about their daily lives, and mapping is shaping up to be a key ingredient,” as he told Bloomberg. For this reason, Google keeps pushing for AI integration even though it is still at the forefront of navigation apps.
According to Bloomberg, Apple Maps “has come a long way and is now on par with Google in some key markets,” but still lagging behind Google. Notably, it is widely used as part of Apple CarPlay. Android “Apple Maps app and Google Maps app have always had their strengths and weaknesses, but in recent years the two apps have continued to borrow the best features and elements from each other,” according to Fast Company.
