Google Maps' New AI-Powered Navigation Features: 'Add Stops', Gemini-Curated Ideas And More

Google Maps, with more than 200 crore users, is one of the go-to apps for navigation. After adding the much-needed flyover callout feature earlier this year, Google is now adding more artificial intelligence-powered features to maps.

Google Maps will leverage Gemini AI for a number of enhanced navigation features, which the company said will start rolling out soon on Android and iOS. The features will first be available in the U.S. and later expanded to other geographies.

Let's say you need to organise an activity for a friend who is coming to visit. To find ideas with Gemini, users can ask Maps for "things to do with friends at night." These suggestions could include seeing live music or dining out a restaurant.

Users can also ask Maps for ideas for weekend getaways with friends or family. It will provide Gemini-curated ideas, such as visiting a nearby travel destination, amusement park, or resort. It will provide a summary of reviews that have been written about the location. Users can even learn more details, such as whether a place has outdoor seating or a calm atmosphere.

Google is also introducing an update to make driving easier. Users can get directions to a destination they wish to travel to and select "add stops." To help plan the ideal drive, Maps will provide important landmarks, attractions, picturesque locations and dining options.

It can occasionally be confusing to drive in new places with lots of lanes and exits. Google Maps’ improved navigation will clearly display lanes, crosswalks and road signs on the map to help travellers prepare for these. Additionally, it will show the precise lane a user should be in through the blue line on lane markers.

Users will also get notified about possible weather disruptions along the route, which may include flooded, unplowed and low-visibility roads, according to Google.

Upon arriving at a destination, Maps will point out parking lots in the area and remind users to save their parking spot. It will provide walking directions from the vehicle to the precise destination, and users can even use Street View or AR walking navigation.

Google also said that the Immersive View feature, which was available only in the U.S. and Europe, will now expand to 150 cities globally. With Immersive View, users can see how stadiums, parks and roads appear through AI, imagery and computer vision, along with traffic and weather conditions for the day and time they're planning to visit, parking spots and even a complex turn along the route.