Google is preparing an infusion of artificial intelligence into one of its most popular and longest-running products: the company’s flagship navigation app, Google Maps. The company’s generative AI chatbot, Gemini, will soon be a ubiquitous element in Maps; This deployment appears to be part of a broader effort to combat recent AI advances made by one of Google’s biggest competitors, Apple.
Google “transforms Maps with the power of Gemini models, helping you get answers to complex questions about the world,” Google parent company Alphabet announced in an Oct. 31 release. press release. AI “has already helped us create new experiences for over a decade,” but it will now be part of Maps in a a largely new wayaccording to the company.
How will Google Maps use new AI features?
The biggest change is that people will be able to use Gemini chatbot features to communicate with Maps. This means users will be able to “chat with Google Maps to ask for advice on things to do around specific locations in a neighborhood or city and receive lists of nearby restaurants, bars and other attractions including reviews compiled over the years. ” said The Associated Press.
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Some of the new questions that can be asked of Maps include “open-ended search queries, such as ‘things to do with friends at night in Boston’ or ‘fun fall activities in Seattle,'” said Reuters. Previously, Maps “answered such queries with more generic results that aren’t as accurate,” while “the updated app will show more personalized options like a list of speakeasies or concert venues.”
The Gemini chatbot will also provide “information about parking options near a designated destination, as well as walking directions that the user can check after leaving the car,” the AP said. Additional road signs and pedestrian crossings will also be clearly marked on Maps to make it easier to navigate unfamiliar areas.
Waze, another Google-owned navigation company, “will also benefit from AI-enhanced natural language processing, with the addition of conversational reporting,” said Ars Technica. This means “no more clicking the right icon on your phone to report that tire in the middle of the highway or the traffic cop hiding behind a bush”, as well as others generative AI features.
How will this help Google compete?
Google remains the leader in the navigation applications sector. The company recently announced that Maps has more than 2 billion monthly users, far surpassing Apple Maps’ user base. However, Apple has has made significant progress in the field of AI in recent months, and “Google cannot afford to stand still,” said Bloomberg.
Tech companies are “rushing to create digital assistants that can guide users through their daily lives, and mapping is shaping up to be a key ingredient,” Bob O’Donnell, an analyst at TECHnalysis Research, told Bloomberg. That’s why, even though Google remains at the forefront of navigation applications, the company continues to promote the integration of AI.
And while Apple Maps is still behind Google, it “has come a long way and is now on par with Google in some key markets,” Bloomberg said, and is notably widely used as part of Apple CarPlay. “The Apple Maps and Google Maps apps have always had their strengths and weaknesses, but in recent years both apps have continued to borrow the best features and elements from each other,” said Fast business.
