Google Maps is turning into a smart assistant

Google is transforming Google Maps from a navigation tool into a comprehensive assistant that helps users with everyday tasks. To that end, they've introduced new standalone digital agent capabilities to Ask Maps that allow you to order food, book hotels, and find event tickets.

The new food ordering features allow users to simply ask the Ask Maps interface a question, such as looking for a specific lunch or dinner. The system then searches for suitable catering providers nearby. After selecting a restaurant, the user can click on the option to order online through supported platforms such as Square, Toast or Uber Eats, with Ask Maps automatically adding the selected dishes to the shopping cart, and the final payment is made on the supported platform.

The tool can also be used by anyone planning a trip. Given a detailed query to find an affordable, highly rated hotel with an artistic touch and within walking distance of a gym and restaurants in downtown Miami, Ask Maps will compare prices and check availability before presenting an option. Once selected, the user makes a reservation directly on the partner’s website. The same goes for entertainment; users can search for comedy nights or concerts and receive links to purchase tickets.

By integrating Personal Intelligence, Ask Maps can pull data from a user's Gmail and Google Calendar accounts to provide personalized answers about flights, dinner reservations, or hotel recommendations based on location. This feature is turned off by default for privacy reasons.

The system now also remembers previous conversations, allowing you to continue planning without re-entering data, and a public transportation widget has been added, showing delays and conditions in real time. Although the agenda features are currently only available in the US, the Personal Intelligence feature and transportation widget are expanding to all markets where Ask Maps is already available. The new feature will be available in our country soon.