Google adds new Gemini-powered features to Maps, including Ask Maps

Google said it is redesigning its Maps app to rely more heavily on artificial intelligence, adding new capabilities powered by its Gemini technology.

The changes, unveiled on Thursday, introduce two new AI features into a mapping service used by more than 2 billion people worldwide, Google said. One tool is called Ask Maps, and the other is Immersive Navigation, focused on driving directions.

Ask Maps is designed to expand conversational abilities Google brought to Maps last November. Google said it will offer suggestions for users looking for things such as nearby places to charge devices, cafes with short lines, or a detailed itinerary for a road trip with several stops and excursions.

Google said Gemini’s recommendations for Ask Maps will draw on a database spanning more than 300 million places and reviews from more than 500 million contributors accumulated since Google Maps’ debut more than 20 years ago. Google executives declined to answer a question about whether the company eventually plans to sell ads to boost businesses’ chances of appearing in Ask Maps recommendations.

Ask Maps initially will be available on Google Maps’ mobile app for iPhones and Android in the U.S. and India, Google said. The company said the feature will expand later to personal computers and other countries.

For driving directions, Google said Gemini has also created a new tool called Immersive Navigation. Google described it as a three-dimensional perspective designed to help users understand where they are at any moment while driving.

Google said the 3D renderings created by Gemini will include landmarks such as notable buildings, medians in the roads and other terrain elements drivers are seeing. Google said Immersive Navigation is also designed to help Maps explain the pros and cons of different driving routes to the same recommendation and point to the best places to park once a user arrives at a designated destination.

Google said it believes its AI guardrails are now strong enough to prevent Gemini from fabricating bogus places to go, describing the failure mode as an industry “hallucination.” The company said Immersive Navigation will be available only in the U.S. initially, on Google Maps’ mobile app and on cars with options to activate CarPlay and Android Auto.

Google said the increased reliance on AI in Maps comes after it introduced more Gemini technology to make Gmail and the Chrome web browser more proactive. The report also cited Gemini 3, released late last year, as part of an intensifying battle for AI supremacy involving OpenAI and Anthropic.