Google Maps uses AI to answer questions about the new restaurant you want to try

Google Maps does getting a major update that should help you find new places to visit with AI. Starting this week, you can explore more locations with Immersive View and search for specific places based on a descriptive search such as “things to do with friends at night.”

Google will then use its Gemini AI model to come up with “inspirational collections” that fit that description. For late-night options, Google Maps may show locations categorized as “speakeasies” or places with “live music.” In the meantime, the regular search results will remain below these collections.

But that’s not the extent of the AI ​​features Google is adding to Maps. Once you tap on a location, you’ll see AI-generated summaries of user reviews, along with the prompt to “Ask Maps about this place.” Here you can enter a question, and Maps will use Gemini to provide an AI-generated answer based on what it has collected from reviews.

At a press conference, Miriam Daniel, head of Google Maps, showed how this could work by selecting a restaurant and filling in: “Is it a quiet atmosphere?” Google Maps then provided a response stating that the location “has a lively atmosphere and a cozy atmosphere.” Below the answer you will see the reviews that Gemini used to provide its answer. These features are rolling out in the US this week on Android and iOS, building on the AI ​​integration that Google started experimenting with earlier this year.

“We wanted to make sure that everything we show in this experience is current and factual,” Daniel said. “There are 100 million updates happening every day, and we can draw on that fresh, new information and base the results from Gemini… and make sure the results show real places on the map.”