Top New AI Features in Google Maps
Google Maps has received a variety of features enhanced by artificial intelligence to improve the user experience. Let's review the most important of these features.
Generative artificial intelligence has reached most of the applications and programs we use daily, whether from Microsoft, Apple, or even Google, which has become an integral part of its various services, including the search engine . Today, it is the turn of one of its most important applications , Google Maps, which has received a new update that adds a set of advanced features based on artificial intelligence to improve the user experience and enhance the application's ability to interact with user needs more intelligently and effectively. While these features were launched exclusively for users in the United States, at least initially for the purpose of testing and evaluation, their arrival to the rest of the application users around the world in the coming months is expected. So let's start the following lines to highlight the most important new artificial intelligence features in Google Maps.
Most of the new features that Google has added to its Maps app are part of the app itself, but this particular feature is different, as Gemini has become integrated with Google Maps, allowing users to directly interact with Google's smart chatbot within the app and benefit from its powerful capabilities in creating, inferring, and summarizing.
With this feature, you can start Gemini chats without having to exit the app and enter another app. This feature appears via the search bar within the app – which you usually use to search for a destination or place – so you can ask your inquiry or question within the search bar, making it simple and quick to use. Gemini can answer all inquiries related to the place, whether it is about how to get there, the distinguished services it provides, or even its working hours.
This feature will certainly save users a lot of time and effort, as it eliminates the need to periodically enter and exit the Google Maps application to inquire about places and get the necessary assistance through conducting an independent search. It also makes it easier for users to search for places, as it shortens the need to use the "Gemini" or "Google" application separately. In addition, this feature will provide quick summaries of the reviews that users have contributed to writing about specific places.
In addition to the integration with Gemini, Google is introducing a major update to its Maps app to make your entire journey easier from start to finish. You may know that the app already has a feature that allows users to set a final destination for the trip and then plan the trip route around it, adding various stops along the way, such as gas stations, rest stops, and other necessary places.
Previously, the user had to start the trip and then manually search for the desired places and add them to the stops. Now, trip planning has become smarter and more flexible thanks to the integration of artificial intelligence. Google Maps can display the most important places around the trip route and customize suggestions based on the user’s personal preferences such as the most important landmarks, attractions, scenic spots and available restaurant options.
One of the most notable features of the new update to Google Maps is the improved display of road details using artificial intelligence. The app now displays many details related to roads while driving, including the number of lanes, branches that may appear, and the outlets on them, providing users with a comprehensive and accurate view of the route.
This feature contributes to solving a large number of challenges that users previously faced when using the application, as the maps lacked accurate details that helped avoid errors during navigation, which made the user make mistakes on the road more than once. Therefore, the new detailed information contributes greatly to improving the accuracy of navigation and reducing the possibility of getting lost.
Although the exact source of this information is not clear, whether it is from traditional algorithms or whether it relies entirely on artificial intelligence to continuously update data, it is certain that the application has become more clear and accurate details than before, which significantly enhances the user experience.
Weather fluctuations and floods pose a major challenge to travelers, and are one of the biggest risks facing anyone who relies on their car to travel long trips, as they pose a potential safety risk to passengers and cars and lead to constant changes in road paths. The new update to the Google Maps application came to provide an innovative solution to this problem.
The app now allows you to view weather information – including weather forecasts – directly within its interface, without having to use separate weather apps. Additionally, the app collects weather and obstruction information interactively, so you can report any road hazards or obstructions you encounter, and the information is harvested directly by the AI algorithm and users together. This collaborative approach provides up-to-date and accurate weather and road information, helping travelers make safer and wiser decisions during their travels.
With the new update, Google Maps can now provide a more detailed navigation experience. While it used to be limited to displaying your destination and the estimated time to reach it without considering the shape of the final destination or parking spaces and access points, the application now cares about these details, so that when you reach your destination, Google Maps will display nearby parking spaces and remind you to save your parking space so you don't forget.
Once you park, you can get directions to the nearest walking route to your destination. This feature helps you navigate your way through augmented reality and other mapping features. Google says it’s rolling out the feature globally to iPhone and Android users in the coming days.
Google has recently added the Immersive View feature to Google Maps, which aims to provide an advanced visual experience for areas and roads. This mode relies on the integration of artificial intelligence and text generation technologies to provide a live and accurate view of buildings and streets. It is also possible to see scenes of these areas changing with time, weather conditions, and various environmental phenomena throughout the day. For example, the user can see rain falling on the streets of a city, and he can know the traffic conditions on the city streets, etc.
As part of the new update, this mode has been improved, such as the ability to display road directions directly on the images generated by artificial intelligence, making it easier for users to understand paths and directions visually and accurately. It says that it has expanded the scope of this mode to include coverage of 150 new cities.