Google Maps is about to become a lot more useful when you don’t quite know what you’re looking for.
Google Ask Maps, the apps new new Gemini-powered feature, is now rolling out in Australia, allowing you to ask questions about places, transport, restaurants and travel plans in a much more conversational way.
Rather than relying on a string of separate searches, you can describe what you want and let Maps work out the details.
Heading to Taronga Zoo? You could ask: “Is there a ferry to get to Taronga Zoo with views of the Opera House? When is the next one coming?”
Ask Maps can bring up the ferry options, show live information and flag delays, so you can see what’s happening before you head to the wharf.
It works for driving, too. If there’s a crash, roadworks or another disruption along your route, Ask Maps can factor that real-time information into your journey.
You can even ask how busy a particular place is right now if you’d rather avoid the crowds.
Think of it as a smarter way to search Maps
The real shift is in how you interact with Google Maps.
You don’t need to turn an idea into a perfectly worded search. You can ask for a restaurant where you can hear the conversation, look for inspiration for a few hours between travel plans or ask for a scenic route and let the AI pull together the relevant information.
Google says people have already been using Ask Maps to find quieter restaurants and create scenic three-hour motorcycle routes.
The Australian rollout brings those capabilities here, with English the first language supported.
Your travel itinerary can come along for the ride
Google is also expanding Personal Intelligence with Gmail to Australia, which could make Ask Maps particularly handy for travel.
If you choose to connect Gmail, Ask Maps can use relevant information from your bookings when answering your questions.
For example, if you have a hotel reservation and a flight coming up, you could ask:
“Give me ideas on how to spend a few hours near the hotel before my flight tomorrow.”
Rather than giving you generic suggestions, Ask Maps can use the hotel information from your Gmail to recommend things nearby and then suggest when you should leave for the airport.
Google says Calendar integration will also be coming soon.
Importantly, connecting your apps is off by default, so you decide whether you want to use the feature and which apps you connect.
It can remember your previous conversations
Ask Maps can also remember past conversations, which means you can return to an idea without having to repeat everything.
If you’ve been planning a trip to Seattle, for example, you could later ask, “Remind me what activities you suggested for my trip to Seattle?”
Your previous recommendations will come back into the conversation, rather than disappearing into the black hole of your search history.
Maps is becoming a planning tool
For years, Google Maps has primarily answered one question: how do I get there?
Ask Maps adds a much broader set of questions to the mix: where should I go, what should I do, when should I leave, what’s happening along the way and how busy will it be when I arrive?
That makes the update particularly interesting for everyday plans as much as big trips. A Saturday afternoon, a dinner out, a day exploring Sydney or an overseas holiday can all start with the same thing: asking Maps what you want to know.
Ask Maps is rolling out in Australia now in English, bringing Gemini-powered conversations, live information and personalised planning to one of the apps Australians already use to navigate the world around them.
