Google Maps is about to get much more helpful, thanks to Gemini

For a larger part of the past year, Google has been building Gemini’s capabilities as a standalone app for both Android phones and iPhones. Now, it seems the tech giant is focusing on bringing Gemini’s abilities to its suite of other apps as well, for some seamless AI-powered use-cases. Case in point, Google Maps, which will soon be able to benefit from Gemini’s contextual awareness.

As per a report by Android Authority, Google is now working on a new contextual chip for Gemini, for Google Maps. This will let users add location-specific context to their search.

What this means is, whenever you open Gemini on top of Google Maps, the AI assistant will be able understand what’s open on Google Maps, and show you a new ‘Ask about place’ option. When tapped on, this option will give you all kinds of information specific to the exact location you’ve been pointing at.

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The report found the feature after conducting a teardown of the latest version of the Android app for Google Maps. Although, it does seem the feature has some ‘bugs’ at the moment, where if hovering on a city, contextual information will be around specific locations in the city, instead of being about the city itself.

Google Maps: When to expect the new feature?

As a teardown feature, don’t expect Google Maps’ new Gemini trick to work on your smartphones right away. However, it could be very likely that a future version of the Google Maps app makes this feature live, following which, heading to a new location should be much more forgiving.

The feature could be really handy when travelling. Say you’re on a road trip, and must take a quick fuel detour into a nearby town, Gemini will now automatically see where you’re headed and give you all the information that you need.