Google Launches AI Task Capabilities for Ask Maps

Google transitioned its Ask Maps feature from a navigation tool into a task-oriented AI assistant by introducing agentic capabilities. These updates allow users to book hotels, purchase event tickets, and order food via platforms like Uber Eats, Square, and Toast through natural-language queries. While these transaction features are currently limited to the United States, other updates are rolling out globally to markets including Canada, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Indonesia, and Australia.

The company introduced Personal Intelligence, which securely integrates Gmail and Google Calendar data to provide tailored travel suggestions based on flight and hotel reservations. In India, Google specifically expanded the service to include Hindi language support. The updated feature set also includes conversation history to recall previous searches and a live transit widget that provides real-time schedules and delays for trains, metro services, and buses.

These enhancements combine Gemini model capabilities with Google Maps data to offer natural language responses regarding traffic and local information. Miriam Daniel stated that these new features aim to make it easier for users to complete tasks without leaving the Google Maps application.