Google Maps Upgrades Ask Maps with Restaurant Ordering, Hotel Search, and Personalized Trip Advice

IT Home reported on August 6 that this evening (the 6th), Miriam Daniel, vice president and general manager of Google Maps, announced a new round of upgrades for the AI-powered Ask Maps. It can now not only order food and find hotels according to users’ personalized needs, but also provide recommendations based on existing itineraries. Google unveiled several new features today aimed at helping users accomplish more “more easily than ever” without leaving Google Maps. Ask Maps’ new agent capabilities can order food on users’ behalf while taking into account dietary requirements, current location, saved places, and other information. Google gave the example that, before leaving work, a user could say: “Order me a spicy seafood drunken noodle dish to pick up on my way home.” Ask Maps will search along the route for restaurants that are still open and serve the dish. Once the user selects a restaurant, the dish is automatically added to the cart, and the user only needs to complete payment to place the order.

When searching for hotels and local activities, users can also specify design styles and atmospheres, or make more detailed requests, such as requiring a hotel to be within walking distance of a gym, restaurant, or other facilities. In addition, Ask Maps and the “Contribute” tab now support supplementing or modifying place information through conversation. After users upload photos such as storefront signs, Google Maps can identify information including the latest business hours, which is then submitted after the user confirms it.

The food-ordering, hotel and activity search, and conversational place-information editing features are now available in the United States and will gradually roll out to more countries. Google Maps will also integrate Personal Intelligence, powered by Gemini. By reading data from other Google applications, it will enable Ask Maps to provide answers better suited to each user’s circumstances. For example, when a user asks about an itinerary, the system can automatically take an upcoming flight or a dinner reservation into account. Personal Intelligence initially supports connecting to Gmail, but it will not be enabled by default; applications such as Calendar will be added soon.

Ask Maps has also added real-time public transit queries, allowing users to check whether the next bus, train, subway, or ferry is delayed. The real-time transit widget and more personalized answers are rolling out in all regions where Ask Maps is available. IT Home learned that Ask Maps officially became available today in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, and Mexico.