Google has significantly expanded the capabilities of Ask Maps, the chatbot built into Google Maps. The service now has agentic features that go beyond finding information about places and can help with food ordering, hotel searches, events and other tasks directly in the conversation. For food orders, users can describe the dishes they want and the area, and Ask Maps will suggest suitable restaurants. After choosing an option, they can continue to checkout. At launch, Google is using integrations with Toast and Square, with Uber Eats support coming later.
The chatbot can also find hotels based on criteria such as budget, room size and nearby attractions. Ask Maps can check room availability and compare prices, then send the user to a partner website to complete the booking. A similar flow will be used to find concerts, comedy shows and other events.
Another addition is Personal Intelligence. With separate user consent, Ask Maps can access Gmail to use personal context. During a trip, for example, the service can find a hotel address in email and suggest nearby restaurants. Gmail access is off by default, while support for Calendar and other Google services is planned for later.
With Google Maps history enabled, the chatbot can also remember previous conversations and let users return to them later. For public transit, interactive real-time widgets will show delays, wait times and other up-to-date route information.
Users will also be able to suggest changes to Google Maps through Ask Maps. For example, they can upload a photo of a sign with new opening hours, review the recognized details and submit the correction to Google. Ask Maps, previously launched in the US and India, is now expanding to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan and Mexico. Food ordering, hotel search and event discovery will initially be available only in the US.