One of the biggest additions is agentic food ordering. Users can ask Ask Maps to find a specific meal along their route or near a destination, and the feature will identify restaurants that match the request while considering factors such as saved places or dietary preferences. After a restaurant is selected, Ask Maps can add the requested dish directly to an online cart for review before checkout. The feature is rolling out with Square and Toast integrations, while Uber Eats support is planned for a later release.
Google is also extending Ask Maps to travel planning. Users can search for hotels using detailed requests that include factors such as price, location, ratings, or atmosphere. The service compares real-time pricing and availability before presenting options. Ask Maps can also recommend nearby events, including concerts and comedy shows, with links to purchase tickets.
The company is also introducing Personal Intelligence to Ask Maps. Users who choose to connect Gmail, and later other apps such as Calendar, can receive responses that account for existing travel plans, reservations, and other personal information. Google said the feature is optional and disabled by default, with users deciding whether to enable the connection.
Ask Maps is also gaining the ability to remember previous conversations for users with the appropriate history settings enabled. That allows people to return to earlier travel planning sessions or recommendations without restarting the conversation.
For public transportation, Google is adding a live transit widget that displays real-time information for buses, trains, subways, and ferries. The widget updates delays as they change, allowing users to view current departure information directly within Ask Maps.
Google is also making it easier for users to contribute updates to Maps through conversational interactions. People can suggest edits using Ask Maps or the Contribute tab, including uploading storefront photos so Maps can detect details such as business hours before asking users to confirm the change. Users can also submit local tips, while Google said its existing review systems continue to evaluate suggested edits before they are published.
Google said the live transit widget, Personal Intelligence, and conversation memory are rolling out everywhere Ask Maps is available. Agentic food ordering, hotel and event discovery, and conversational contributions are initially launching in the United States, with additional countries planned over time. The company is also expanding Ask Maps to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and more than 150 countries and territories in English.
This analysis is based on reporting from Google.
Image courtesy of Google.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
