PALO ALTO, California – Google Maps is moving towards a new path driven by artificial intelligence.

The change, announced Thursday, will bring more of the revolutionary AI technology Google already has becoming the dominant search engine to the digital maps service that the internet company launched nearly 20 years ago as part of its efforts to expand to new horizons.

Google Maps recently surpassed 2 billion monthly users worldwide for the first time; It’s a milestone that shows how dependent people have become on the service’s directions during their daily commutes and trips to new places. With the introduction of Google’s AI-powered Gemini technology, maps are now being turned into entertainment guides in addition to navigation tools.

Starting this week, in the US only, users will be able to chat with Google Maps to ask for tips on things to do in specific spots in a neighborhood or city and receive lists of restaurants, bars and other nearby attractions with previous reviews. compiled over the years. The new features will also provide more detailed information about parking options near a designated destination, as well as walking directions for the user to check after exiting the vehicle.

“We’re entering a new era of maps,” Google Maps general manager Miriam Daniel told reporters during a preview of the features offered in Palo Alto, California, on Wednesday. “We are changing the way you navigate and explore the world.”

Google Maps is also trying to address complaints by offering more detailed images that will make it easier to see which lane of the road you’ll be on without having to make a turn.

In another AI change, Google Maps will allow outside developers to leverage the language models underlying Gemini technology to ask questions about specific locations, such as apartments or restaurants, and have their questions answered within seconds. Google says that this new feature, which will initially go through a testing phase, has gone through a verification procedure it calls “grounding”.

Google’s Waze maps, which focuses solely on real-time directions, will use artificial intelligence to offer its nearly 180 million monthly users a conversational way to announce road hazards and other issues that could impact travel times.

The decision to bring AI to a service that many people rely on to get from point to point reflects Google’s growing confidence in the ability of Gemini technology to prevent users from providing false or misleading information, also known as “hallucinations.” Google’s artificial intelligence was caught hallucinating in some summaries that began publishing in May; these included the recommendation to put glue on pizza and the claim that the fourth US president, James Madison, graduated from the University of Wisconsin, located in a city named after him. he.