Google Maps is getting two key upgrades, for easier route planning and quicker access to Gemini AI

• Google Maps has tweaked its route info panel
• There's also faster access to Gemini AI
• These changes aren't available to everyone yet

Google Maps is one of the apps that gets the most love from Google in terms of regular updates, and we've spotted another couple of upgrades rolling out to the mapping app in recent days – upgrades to add some extra convenience to your travels.

Firstly, the app is changing up how it displays route overviews. As Android Police has noted, the info card you see when you select any place on the map on Android now shows you more details about parking availability and any applicable toll fees.

This information was previously available in Google Maps, but you had to dig around a little bit to find it – now it's included on the main route overview pop-up, alongside the estimated travel time and the current traffic conditions.

It's a small tweak but one that's potentially very useful. It brings together more of the data Google Maps has in the same place, which means you're more clued up about your journeys and you can get moving more quickly. It doesn't look as though the update is live for everyone yet, but it should be eventually.

More AI in Google Maps

Our second new feature concerns Google's favorite tech of the moment: AI. As spotted by Android Authority, if you select a place on the map in Google Maps for Android, then activate Gemini (with a long press on the power button for example), you get a new Ask about place chip you can tap.

Gemini being able to tell you about places isn't new, but the addition of a specific shortcut means you can get some AI-generated information about a location much more quickly from Google Maps. Just watch out for hallucinations, as always.

For example, you could ask when a certain place opens or closes, or ask if it's suitable for kids. The responses will then be displayed in a Gemini overlay on top of the screen, as usual, and you can ask follow-up questions if needed.

We can expect much more in the way of Gemini integration in Google Maps and Google's other apps in the future, too. Google has been busy pushing the AI bot into as many apps as it can, while it continues to work on retiring Google Assistant.

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