Google Maps recently got its most significant AI upgrade in the form of a new Ask Maps feature. It's a Gemini-powered conversational interface built right into Maps. And it works like an AI-powered local guide that can answer your questions about any place. Now, let's learn about the feature in detail and find out how to use Ask Maps on Google Maps.
What is Ask Maps on Google Maps?
Ask Maps is a new AI-powered conversational feature inside Google Maps that lets you ask descriptive questions in natural language about any place. In return, you get context-aware answers with a complete map view, and tips from real people. Instead of typing generic queries like "restaurants near me" and scrolling through several listings, you can ask something specific like "find me a quiet cafe with car parking".
Ask Maps is powered by Google's Gemini AI models and it pulls data from a live database of over 300 million places and 500 million reviews. On top of that, Ask Maps personalizes results based on your Maps history. For instance, it factors in places you have searched before, saved places, food preferences, reviews, and more. You can have a multi-turn conversation with Ask Maps and refine the results with more information.
How to use Ask Maps on Google Maps
While Ask Maps is already rolling out on Android and iOS, it's a server-side rollout so it may take a few days to hit your device. Nevertheless, here are the steps you can follow to use Ask Maps on Google Maps.
- Launch Google Maps on your Android phone or iPhone and tap on the Ask Maps option at the top-left.
- If it's not available, update Maps to the latest version from the Play Store or App Store. It should be on version 26.12.05.884026066 or above.
- Now, you will see the Ask Maps pop-up screen where you can ask descriptive questions to Google Maps.
- You can ask questions complex, multi-part questions like "best dosa within a 15 minute drive with outdoor seating" and tap on the Send button. You can also ask question using your voice by tapping on the Microphone icon.
- Ask Maps will generate a conversational response, according to your current location.
- You can scroll down and see the personalized response and chat further to refine your results.
- You can also plan a tour with questions like "I am driving to New Delhi next week, what are the best hotels to stop and rest at along the way".
- The Gemini-powered Ask Maps feature understands the nuance, maps your entire route, and shows overnight hotels for each day of the drive.
- You will also see an Overview Map showing all the locations in one map view.
Best Use Cases for Ask Maps
The best part about Ask Maps is that it handles vague and multi-layered questions which is not possible using traditional Maps search. And it's all possible because of deep Gemini integration on Android. Here are some of the practical scenarios where you can use the Ask Maps feature in Google Maps.
- Road Trip Planning: You can ask questions like "I am driving from Bangalore to Goa. Any food stops along the way that are not just highway dhabas". For questions like these, Ask Maps is the best tool as it can pull up interesting stops along with your route with ETAs, directions and tips from real reviews.
- Group Meetups: You can go with something like "My friends are coming from Koramangala and I am in Indiranagar. Suggest some good spots with a table for 6 at 8 PM tonight". Ask Maps will consider the location of all members, and will check real-time availability info where possible. And since Ask Maps is personalized, it will factor in your food preferences too.
- Finding Niche Spots: "I am looking for a quiet cafe with fast Wi-Fi. No music and it should be pet-friendly". If you manually searched for such places, it would take more than 30 minutes of review reading, however, the AI-powered Ask Maps feature analyzes all the reviews to surface exactly what you want.
- Create Tourist Itineraries: "I am visiting Jaipur for 2 days. Create an itinerary that covers major forts and also includes street food spots". Ask Maps creates a structured plan with directions, time estimates, and insider tips pulled from the community and reviews. You will get valuable insights like which fort to visit first to avoid the crowd.
Ask Maps is currently rolling out in India on Android and iOS for free. Google says it's also coming to desktop pretty soon. If you have not received the feature, you might have to wait since it's a phased rollout. Nevertheless, you can update Google Maps and force stop it to check if the feature appears on your device. So, go ahead and try Ask Maps the next time you are planning a night out or a weekend trip.
