Google Maps continues to evolve by offering new tools that should simplify users' daily lives. If you're looking for a winter sweater for the holidays, now just type “winter sweater” (or whatever you want!) into the search bar to see nearby stores that carry the item you want.
Christmas shopping without hassle
The tool also displays reviews, opening hours and even stock availability. A godsend for saving time, especially during the end-of-year shopping period. This option therefore applies to clothing, but also to electronics and home items.
As for journeys, Google adapts to the season with real-time information on flooded or unplowed roads. Users can report these disruptions, as well as delays on bus or train lines, so that everyone can better anticipate their trips. Perfect for winter mornings when every minute counts.
Google Maps takes its capabilities even further with the integration of Gemini, its in-house artificial intelligence. Need inspiration for an evening with friends? You can ask Maps directly for ideas for nighttime activities. Gemini offers suggestions based on feedback from the Maps community and its 250 million places referenced around the world. Are you looking for a quiet place or an outdoor terrace? Ask the question, Gemini answers you (to the best of its abilities, remember that AI can sometimes hallucinate).
Another new feature for car journeys: the app helps plan a route before you even start. By adding stops along the route, Maps suggests attractions, viewpoints or lunch options. Enough to make long journeys a little more fun. Once on the road, navigation becomes clearer: lanes, signs and pedestrian crossings are better indicated, to avoid last-minute surprises.
For arrival at the destination, Google Maps also improves the details: the application indicates the exact entrance to the building sought, the nearby parking lots and even offers to save the location to easily find your car. Thanks to navigation in augmented reality or with Street View, you can also find your way on foot from your parking space to the entrance to the building.
Finally, Google Maps is refining Immersive View, its function which combines artificial intelligence, satellite images and computer vision to give a realistic view of journeys. This option allows you to view a course or location – park, stadium or campus – at different times of the day, taking into account the forecast weather. You can anticipate traffic, easily locate parking lots and even prepare for complex turns.
Available in 150 cities around the world, including Paris, Brussels, Kyoto and Frankfurt, Immersive View is now expanding to university campuses. The tool offers a more fluid and precise experience for exploring unknown places, whether on foot or by car.
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