Google Maps is one of the most used and popular navigation apps on the planet, thanks to the attention of Google in taking care of its development and functionality. With over 2 billion people using it every month, the app updates its maps daily with more than 100 million changes, processed through images, data from local partners and user contributions. The result? A map that is always updated and now enriched by the artificial intelligence of Geminithe Mountain View giant’s AI model that could – at least potentially – radically change the user experience with the app. With this innovation, announced in recent days by Google, Maps goes from being an excellent navigation tool to a real virtual assistant capable of answering complex questions and providing personalized suggestions on what to do and where to go. At the moment, not all of Google’s AI-powered innovations will be available worldwide.
How Google Maps changes with Gemini
Imagine you want to organize a special evening with friends and you can ask Google Maps directly for suggestions for particular activities: it will be enough to type commands like this “things to do with friends in the evening” and Gemini will develop a series of ad hoc options, such as exclusive venues or live events. Thanks to summary of reviewsanother of Gemini’s strong points, you will be able to quickly evaluate people’s opinions, obtaining an overall vision of the place, with detailed answers even to questions such as “Does this restaurant have outdoor seating?” or “How’s the atmosphere?”. This new feature is currently being released in the United States.
Not only that: the introduction of Gemini also enhances the navigation during the trip. For example, before you even set off, you can insert stops along the route and visualize the attractions, restaurants and panoramic points that you will encountermaking travel planning more proactive. Then, while driving, Google Maps will show in advance the road signsthe lanes to follow and exitsreducing the risk of delays due to last-minute lane changes. As the winter months approach, Maps will allow you to report weather conditions, such as flooded or snowy roads, thus improving safety and travel planning on less familiar roads.
The new function Immersive Viewenriched by artificial intelligence and artificial vision, also allows you to virtually explore places in a realistic way. You can “visit” stadiums, parks and even streets, getting an idea of what the place will look like at the exact moment you reach it, including details on weather conditions and traffic. This update extends to over 150 global citiesincluding Brussels, Frankfurt And Kyoto (for the record, at the time of writing the function is also available for some Italian cities, including Florence, Milan, Pisa, Rome And Venice,), and introduces new categories of places, such as university campuses, allowing extremely accurate long-range planning.
Beyond that, Google Maps now makes the last step of your journey easier: once you arrive at your destination, you can easily locate the parking lots and get walking directions to the entrance of the chosen place. Even for those who use Street View and augmented reality, it will be possible to orient themselves on the final journey, with a more intuitive navigation experience that includes details on the buildings and their entrances.
Google AI also available on Waze
Another interesting aspect, Google AI is also available on Wazethe navigation app purchased by Google on 11 June 2013. A function based on artificial intelligence has been introduced on the latter which allows you to using natural language to report various critical issues encountered along the way – potholes, roadworks, traffic, etc. – by pressing a simple button and starting to talk. Below we leave you with a short video that illustrates the function Conversational Reporting which we just talked about (currently available in beta version only in English).
