Google Maps is getting new AI-powered search updates, enhanced navigation interface and more. This is good news for Google Maps users who will now find it easier to navigate with the app on different occasions.
A number of AI-powered features that are intended to make it simpler for users to search, explore their surroundings, and get to their destinations are among the many new enhancements that Google is rolling out for Maps.
Google Maps is getting new AI-powered search updates
The company is rolling out navigation interface upgrades, providing EV drivers with additional information about charges, expanding previously announced features to new locations, and more. It’s also making it easier to find specific items near you and get inspiration for things to do.
To make it simpler to identify certain items nearby, the tech giant is improving Maps’ Search feature. These days, if you search for something like “animal latte art,” you will find images related to your search query.
Thanks to AI and sophisticated picture recognition algorithms, the results you see are based on an analysis of user-shared photos on Google Maps. Google hopes to make it easier for you to find new locations that carry exactly what you’re looking for by displaying these images to you. In this case, you can click on an adorable animal latte art image to find out more about the coffee shop that sells it and then navigate to it.
At its Google I/O event in May of this year, Google unveiled a plethora of new AI-powered products and services. A number of new AI features, such as the amazing Immersive View function that would offer a bird’s-eye view of your trip, were also promised for Google Maps.
This week, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States will all get access to this new Maps search feature. Google intends to bring it to more countries very soon.
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In the event that you have some spare time but are unsure of exactly what you’re looking for, you will quickly begin to get more arranged search results for local items. For example, you can look up “things to do” in Tokyo to find suggestions for places to visit, such as “anime,” “cherry blossoms,” or “art exhibitions.” By tapping on the locations, you can save them for later or navigate to them. In the upcoming weeks, this update—which is meant to make it easier for you to locate things to do and places to eat—will launch globally on iOS and Android.
Additionally, Google revealed that a more accurate reflection of your surroundings would soon be shown in the Maps navigation experience. For example, you can better orient yourself when driving downtown because you will be able to view more realistic structures. You will now notice enhanced lane details when on the highway in addition to updated colors through the map. This will be helpful in situations where you need to swiftly cross several lanes to get to your exit. In the upcoming months, 12 countries—including the United States, Canada, France, and Germany—will begin to receive these updates.
In the United States, vehicles will begin to check if their route includes any HOV lanes. Additionally, Google is bringing its AI-powered speed limit data to 20 more nations in Europe. In the upcoming months, both of these functionalities will be available for automobiles equipped with Google Built-in as well as iOS and Android devices.
Furthermore, EV drivers using iOS and Android devices will begin to notice more details about the charging stations that appear on their map, such as whether or not the available chargers are fast, medium, or slow, and whether or not a given charger is compatible with their car. In order to ensure that a charger is functional and prevent you from driving to a broken charger, you can also view when the charger was last used.
Google said today that it will be bringing some of its AI-powered features to additional cities. We’re expanding Immersive View for Routes to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Dublin, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Paris, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Tokyo, and Venice for Android and iOS. This feature allows you to preview your trip whether you’re driving or walking.
Google has also expanded Lens in Maps, formerly called Search with Live View, to over 50 more cities, such as Taipei, Las Vegas, Austin, Rome, São Paulo, and Las Vegas. With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality, you can now more easily navigate about and use your phone to get information on nearby ATMs, train stations, restaurants, and other establishments.
