Google Maps Upgrade: App Now Orders Food on Your Way Home
Soon, users won't need to switch between multiple apps to order food or plan commutes. Google is enhancing Google Maps with new artificial intelligence capabilities that allow for a variety of tasks—from food ordering to travel planning—without leaving the app.
Soon, users won't need to switch between multiple apps to order food or plan their commute. Google is upgrading the Google Maps app with new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that allow for a variety of tasks, from ordering food to planning trips and searching for hotels, all without leaving the app.
Food ordering and real-time updates
The primary upgrade concerns the "Ask Maps" smart assistant, powered by Gemini. The assistant is now capable of performing complex, multi-step tasks. For instance, a user can simply ask it to order a specific dish for pickup on the way home. The system will locate open restaurants along the route, allow the user to select one, and add the dish directly to the in-app cart for easy review and payment.
Beyond food, the smart assistant will assist with travel and logistics. It can search for hotel information and events, compare prices in real-time, check room availability, and suggest interesting activities in the area. Additionally, Google is launching a new public transport widget that provides live updates and accurate information on delays for buses, trains, subways, and ferries, ensuring users are not caught off guard on their way to the station.
Personalization and privacy protection
To enhance service efficiency, Google is introducing an option to connect the assistant to a Gmail account. This integration allows Maps to automatically account for the user's future plans. It is important to emphasize that this is an opt-in feature that is disabled by default, ensuring user privacy is maintained. Furthermore, the system can remember previous conversations to understand the context of requests, provided that chat history settings are enabled.
The new features, including the public transport widget and personalized responses, are currently rolling out globally for the iPhone app and the web version. Food ordering and hotel search capabilities are currently available in the USA, with plans for expansion to other countries in the near future.
