Google Maps will now be able to order food, buy event tickets, book hotels, and give even more personalized recommendations, the tech giant announced on Thursday.
Google embedded its AI chatbot into Maps back in March in a conversational feature it’s calling “Ask Maps.” Now, the conversational assistant will also be able to “handle complex, multi-step tasks for you using new agentic capabilities,” Google announced in a blog post.
For example, if you want to order food to pick up on your way home from the office or if you’re craving a specific dish and don’t know where to get it near your location, Google wants you to let Maps handle (some of) that instead.
“It’ll find open restaurants along your route that serve what you’re craving and can even consider things like your saved places or specific dietary needs,” Google Maps chief Miriam Daniel said in the blog post. “Once you select a restaurant, Ask Maps can automatically add the dish you’re looking for directly to your cart so you can easily review and complete your order.”
So it sounds like the agentic feature automates some of the steps of finding a restaurant and ordering food, but not the whole thing, as you still need to select from Maps’ shortlist and complete the order. The food ordering feature will rely on partnerships with food industry payment processing platforms Square and Toast at first launch, and will later include Uber Eats.
For the events booking feature, users will be able to ask Maps to pull up a list of nearby events such as comedy shows or concerts, and the agentic assistant will provide links for tickets. For the hotels feature, users can ask for a list of hotels that fit specific requirements, like price range, location, amenities, or even just vibes, and Ask Maps will check availability and give a rundown of options.
Along with the agentic assistants, Google is also expanding the reach of Personal Intelligence, its AI-driven hyperpersonalization bet. The new feature will be off by default, but if you choose to, you can allow Ask Maps to connect to your Gmail or Google Calendar accounts, giving the tool access to your entire schedule. If you decide you are okay with that level of information sharing, then Maps can use your email correspondence to give personalized information, such as where to grab a bite before your flight and tips for getting to the airport on time.
If your history settings are turned on, Ask Maps will also remember every conversation you have, meaning that users will be able to return to old conversations and “pick up where you left off,” as Google puts it.
Google Maps is only the latest Google platform to get a full agentic makeover. The tech giant has long been interested in infusing artificial intelligence capabilities into possibly every single product it offers. Google is heavily banking on user demand for AI-driven hyperpersonalization and agentic assistants meant to automate most digital tasks, a bet that has included integrating agentic AI in its flagship product, Google Search.
The new agentic Google Maps features are only debuting in the United States for now, but the Personal Intelligence update will be available everywhere that has access to Ask Maps, a list that as of Thursday will expand to include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, and Mexico.
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