All New AI Features Coming to Google Maps

AI may not be some passing fad—certainly every tech company is looking to add as many AI features to their products as possible, including Google. Bard is the company’s answer to ChatGPT , and it even integrates with Google products like Docs, YouTube, and Gmail.

Maps appears to be the latest Google product to hit the AI ​​bug, with the company announcing six new AI features coming to Google Maps, including the ability to search for visual landmarks, augmented reality search, and the launch of immersive driving directions.

Visual search

Visual Search is a new Google Maps tool that uses photos shared by Google Maps users to generate results for more general searches. For example, you can search for “street art” on Google Maps and get related images from places near you. If you want to find a coffee shop that serves “animal latte art,” search for it and Google Maps will find images that match that description.

Google says the feature will be coming to both iOS and Android this week.

Explore by topic

When you search for something on Google Maps, your results will soon look different than usual. This is because Google uses AI to group results into different topics. The goal here is to group different types of results into topical lists so that when you see a list that matches your interests, you can focus on the more relevant results. You can also save these results to lists for later viewing.

Immersive route viewing

This might be my favorite: Google uses AI to stitch billions of Street View images together to create an interactive representation of any place. You can view your destination, including things like traffic simulations and weather effects, when you request biking, walking, or driving directions using previously available Street View data. Google announced this feature during I/O 2023, and it will finally arrive this week.

Driving and navigation

You’ll soon notice more realistic buildings and traffic lanes as you navigate, which makes me very happy. The more maps reflect the real world, the easier it is to follow directions. You’ll also see if your route has truck lanes, as well as speed limits in another 20 countries.

Electric Vehicle Charger Information

If you have an electric car, the new Google Maps update will give you more information to help you on your route. Google Maps will tell you if the charger is compatible with your car, when the station was last used, and how fast or slow the charger is. According to Google, 25% of EV chargers fail at any given time in the US – yes – so these changes should help. Google hasn’t explained exactly how AI plays a role in these features, but it could be intelligently collecting data from other drives, as well as station and review sites.

Google Lens extension

Google is renaming Search with Live View to Google Lens in Maps and rolling out the feature in 53 new cities. If you tap the Lens icon, you can pick up your phone and point it towards the world around you. Google Maps will then display information about visible points of interest such as ATMs, public transport, restaurants and shops so you can learn more without having to search for something individually.

New cities supported by this feature include Austin, Las Vegas, Sao Paulo, Taipei and Rome.