Google Maps integrates Gemini AI for on‑the‑go summarised answers

Google Maps has started slipping Gemini’s chatbot into the app, so you can actually ask about routes, landmarks or a coffee shop while you’re on the road. The idea is that the bot pulls together the bits it finds and spits out a single, easy-to-follow answer - Dutta even calls it “like having a local expert in the passenger seat.” Instead of staring at a list of turn-by-turn steps, you get short, chatty replies that can point out nearby sights on the fly. Still, it’s hard to say how often those summaries will line up with what you see outside the window, or whether people will feel comfortable trusting a machine-generated “friend.” This rollout pushes Gemini past the occasional question and into the core of daily navigation.

The convenience is clear, but real-world value will hinge on things like accuracy, speed and how relaxed drivers are with AI-led guidance. We’ll probably need more usage data before we can call it an “all-knowing copilot.” Future tweaks might smooth out vague queries, though the current docs don’t spell out how that will work.