Google's new Ask Maps feature could bridge the gap between conversational AI and maps to create a travel "super app"

Google has launched "Ask Maps," a conversational AI feature within Google Maps that lets users ask complex, natural-language questions about places — like "plan a museum route" or "places to meet friends in the city after work with a table for four".

Ask Maps draws on data from over 300 million places and 500 million community contributions to create personalized answers and "insider tips", as well as directions, and ETAs. Users can also take action directly, such as booking reservations or sharing places with friends. It's rolling out now in the U.S. and India on Android and iOS.

Here's a short product video:

My own take on this — this brings conversational AI right into the heart of one of the most used apps in the word. I've always claimed that Google Maps could become a "super app" and this could put it a step towards that. However, Google maps can be sloppy (try driving in LA with it and getting routed across impossible stop signs, or the incorrectly named beach that is 500 metres out to sea in front of my place) and I'm not sure I want to rely on crowd sourced reviews. Perhaps Google have some more data points beyond the reviews and comments to work with here that can inform their algorithm and suggestions. There will also be people who enjoy reading reviews and scrolling through everything to make a decision. But regardless, this is cool tech, and a bit close to my heart since my first travel startup many years ago was EXACTLY THIS - asking questions about places and getting personalised answers.

Have you already tried the new Ask Maps? Please share your experiences with it!