Ask Maps in Google Maps rolling out Personal Intelligence, real-time transit, global launch

Google announced Thursday that its Gemini-powered Ask Maps feature in Google Maps is receiving a global launch and new capabilities including personal intelligence integration, real-time transit data, and agentic task completion. The feature, which debuted in the United States in March, is now rolling out in English to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, and over 150 other countries and territories. Ask Maps can now access personal intelligence from Gmail, such as upcoming flight or dinner reservations, to provide relevant suggestions without users explaining existing plans. Users must manually enable the feature, with support for Google Calendar and other apps coming soon. The tool also remembers past conversations when history settings are enabled, allowing users to resume previous trip planning. The update adds real-time transit information for buses, trains, subways, and ferries, functioning as a virtual departure board that updates with delays. New agentic capabilities allow Ask Maps to complete multi-step tasks like ordering food from restaurants along a user's route, booking hotels by comparing prices, and finding local events. Food ordering supports Square and Toast at launch with Uber Eats support coming soon. Conversational contribution editing and photo-based hour detection are also rolling out in the United States.