Gemini AI starts out shotgunning Google Maps

Google Maps is increasingly becoming a guide thanks to Google’s Gemini AI models. The AI ​​assistant offers suggestions for places to visit, summarizes reviews, and answers your questions about locations from the Maps app on Android and iOS devices in the US, using insights from data on millions of locations worldwide. The update shows that Google’s infusion of Gemini AI into its services, especially on mobile devices, is accelerating as Google Maps sees more than 2 billion users per month and is updated 100 million times per day.

The most notable update combines Google Maps with Gemini’s flexible conversation interface to provide ideas for places to go based on your questions. You might ask about family-friendly places to visit on Saturdays, or cheap restaurants to eat near a concert you’re attending in the evening. Gemini sorts data from Google Maps to create recommendations.

The idea is that Gemini not only has a list of spots, but also AI-generated information that goes as deep as you want. Therefore, Gemini will also summarize reviews of locations you are interested in. Instead of scrolling through what people have said, you can see a Gemini-written composite highlighting elements, good and bad, that reviewers have highlighted. Google suggests this will speed up decision-making because it’s a more concise snapshot of how people feel about a place.

(Image credit: Google)

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