Google Maps has become even smarter!

On Thursday, October 31st, Eastern Time, Google added new features to its map software Google Maps and satellite navigation software Waze. Map users can now ask questions like chatting, such as asking "What good restaurants are nearby?" Then, Google Maps will use AI to summarize everyone's reviews for users. Users of the Waze app encountering traffic problems while driving, such as traffic jams or accidents, do not need to stop and type or enter special commands.

Now mapping services are becoming more and more advanced. It not only tells you how to get from one place to another, but also helps you better understand and enhance the world around you.

Seek inspiration from the map carefully selected by Gemini.

Google said that when you need to entertain visiting friends and find some activities, you can directly ask Google Maps "What can I do with my friends at night?" You can get activity suggestions carefully selected by Gemini, such as visiting an underground bar or enjoying live music. To find out what people think of a certain place, you can read Gemini's summary of reviews, which is particularly useful when time is limited. If you see a place that interests you and want to know more details, like whether there are outdoor seats or if the environment is quiet, just ask Google Maps, and you'll get immediate answers.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on the social media platform X that Google Maps has 2 billion users per month. Now you can ask more complex questions to the map. All these new features are thanks to Gemini's powerful creative, reasoning, and summarizing abilities, which are based on our reliable data on approximately 0.25 billion locations globally and insights from the map community.

In addition, Google Maps has introduced the "Immersive View" feature, allowing you to immerse yourself in the map, such as when you want to go to a park, you can see what the park looks like on the map before you go, and even see the weather and traffic conditions on the day of your visit. Furthermore, Google is adding more locations, such as university campuses, so you can take a virtual campus tour. Moreover, this feature will also tell you where to park and remind you in advance of complex turns. The feature will be updated starting this week.

Google Maps has also made a major update to help users plan their trips more easily while driving. As long as users search for a destination on the map, they can see along the way famous landmarks, attractions, scenic spots, and restaurants to help you better plan your trip. At complex intersections or multi-lane sections, the navigation will clearly display lanes, crosswalks, and signs on the map to help you know in advance how to proceed. With the arrival of winter, users can see real-time weather information, such as road flooding, snow accumulation, or low visibility, to prepare in advance.

Report road accidents in natural language.

One of Waze's biggest highlights is its powerful real-time traffic information update feature. It utilizes GPS information from mobile devices and user uploads and shares to allow users to report traffic conditions, accidents, road closures, police locations, and other road information at any time. This data is instantly transmitted to all other users to help everyone avoid congestion in real time and choose the best driving route.

Waze has added a new feature called "Conversational Reporting." This feature makes it safer and easier for you to report road conditions while driving. If you are driving on a highway and see traffic slowing down suddenly ahead, you just need to press the report button, then speak naturally, as if you were chatting with a friend: "Looks like the traffic is backing up ahead!"

Waze will use Gemini technology to understand what you are saying and quickly help you add a real-time report to the map, without the need for specific voice commands or pressing other buttons. For example, if you see a trash can on the road, Waze can help you categorize this report so that other drivers know and can avoid this danger. This way, members of the Waze community can share real-time road information, allowing everyone to better plan their own trips.

Tech companies are competing to invest in map services.

Although Google Maps is very popular, Google cannot afford to stand still, mainly because Silicon Valley companies are competing to create digital assistants that can guide users in their daily lives, with map services becoming a key part of this competition.

Technology industry analyst Bob O'Donnell stated that it is worth noting that future map services may become more ai, integrating more closely with generative artificial intelligence agents. Typically, people's requests for maps, such as "take me to a place to eat dinner," are actually part of more complex demands.

Other companies are also attempting to make map services more advanced. For example, the gaming company Niantic (developer of "Pokémon GO") launched a new app in August, allowing users to create 3D models of real-world objects and share these images with others to form a collaborative map. This means that people can not only view maps, but also add their own creations, making the maps more vivid and interactive.

AI expert Fei-Fei Li launched a new company called World Labs in September, aiming to develop software that can determine the three-dimensional world using images and other data. Li Fei-Fei stated that spatial data could "change the direction of artificial intelligence development."

In addition, technology giants like Apple are also catching up. Apple's maps (Apple Maps), which experienced some issues when launched in 2012, have now made significant progress and can already compete with Google Maps in some important markets.

Apple Maps has been working hard to improve its navigation interface in recent years. For example, in 2021, it began displaying three-dimensional maps of some cities and lane information, a feature that Google Maps just introduced on Thursday. However, Apple Maps is more conservative when it comes to letting users share information, and it even does not allow users to rate the places they have visited.

Despite facing competition, Google Maps' scale remains hard to match. Google stated that with AI analysis of billions of images and data from local partners and communities, we update the map over 0.1 billion times daily. Therefore, whether you are traveling the world or navigating through cities, you can see the latest information. Now, we are leveraging the powerful capabilities of the Gemini model to redesign the map and help you find answers to complex questions about the world.

Editor/Lambor