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Google Maps: Google Maps will no longer be limited to just navigation. Beyond showing you the way to restaurants, it will now allow you to order food and search for hotels to stay in.

Google Maps: Google Maps is evolving beyond just showing directions. Having guided people for the past two decades, it is now set to handle a variety of other tasks. Google believes that navigation alone is no longer sufficient, so the company is equipping the app with enhanced capabilities. It will now be able to help plan your entire day and assist with decision-making. To this end, Google has rolled out a new update that makes the platform even more useful for users. Let’s take a look at the features included in this update.

Expanding ‘Ask Maps’

Google is expanding ‘Ask Maps,’ a feature launched a few months ago. It now includes new ‘agentic tools’ that allow you to order food and search for hotels directly within Google Maps. Additionally, these tools will provide comprehensive information about local events, including ticketing details. Alongside these agentic tools, Google has introduced ‘personal intelligence’ to Maps, enabling it to offer custom recommendations based on information from your Gmail and Google Calendar. However, you will need to link your Gmail and Calendar accounts to the service for this to work. This feature is particularly useful when you have planned a trip and marked the dates on your calendar; using this information, Google Maps will automatically display details about events and hotels near your destination during that time right on your screen.

Google Maps will work for you, not just show the way

Google Maps will now not only locate restaurants and hotels but also facilitate food orders. You simply need to tell Maps what you are in the mood to eat. It will then select a restaurant and place a food order on your behalf. While you are driving, the AI ​​agents within Maps can add various options to your cart, though the final decision to pay remains with you. Similarly, travel planning will become incredibly easy; you won’t need to visit multiple websites to search for hotels. You simply need to tell Google Maps what kind of hotel you prefer, and it will compare options and prices to present you with booking choices.

The Role of ‘Personal Intelligence’

As mentioned, Google has introduced ‘Personal Intelligence’ alongside agentic tools in this new update. This feature allows Maps to understand the context of what you wish to do. Once granted permission, it can draw references from your Gmail and Google Calendar to offer recommendations. For instance, suppose you receive a conference invitation in your Gmail inbox; using Personal Intelligence, Google Maps can utilize this information to suggest hotels near the conference venue without requiring you to provide any additional details.

Catering to Entertainment Needs

Google Maps also caters to your entertainment needs, even if you aren’t traveling and are simply bored at home. You can now use ‘Ask Maps’ to find information about nearby comedy shows, concerts, and other live events. Along with the details, ‘Ask Maps’ will provide links to purchase tickets. This demonstrates that Google aims to move beyond using Maps solely for navigation during travel, seeking instead to integrate it into the user’s daily life. These upgrades will be rolled out first in the US, followed by launches in other markets.