Gemini AI starts riding shotgun on Google Maps

Google Maps is becoming more of a tour guide thanks to Google’s Gemini AI models. The AI assistant will offer suggestions for places to visit, sum up reviews, and answer your questions about locations from the Maps app on Android and iOS devices in the U.S., based on insights culled from data about millions of locations worldwide. The update shows that Google’s infusion of Gemini AI across its services, especially on mobile devices, is accelerating, as Google Maps sees more than 2 billion users a month and is updated 100 million times a day.

The most notable update melds Google Maps with Gemini’s flexible conversational interface to provide ideas for places to go based on your queries. You might ask for family-friendly spots to visit on a Saturday or cheap restaurants to eat at that are near a concert you’re attending at night. Gemini will sort through data from Google Maps to curate recommendations.

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

AI guidance

Should the review summary not be enough, Google Maps is also leveraging Gemini to answer your specific questions about a location. You can ask about any facet of a venue, whether factual, like its opening time, or more opinion-based, like how people feel about…