Google is making your Maps experience way more chatty. The tech giant just rolled out a new feature called “Ask Maps”, a Gemini-powered chatbot built right into Google Maps that lets you have a conversation with the app about where to go and how to get there. It’s basically like texting a friend for travel recommendations, except the friend is an AI that knows literally everything about every location on Earth.

Ask Maps is landing first on mobile devices, both Android and iOS, in the US and India, with a desktop version coming soon. The feature appears as a tab right under the search bar, and when you tap it, Google will hit you with personalized prompt suggestions based on where you live and what you usually search for. Living in San Francisco? Google might suggest planning a drive to Muir Woods with a breakfast burrito stop, or exploring vintage shops in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

The real magic happens when you’re planning something bigger, like a road trip. According to Google’s examples, Ask Maps can build out multi-day itineraries with multiple stops, scenic lookout points, and recommendations tailored to your preferences. The chatbot even throws in helpful tips, like when it suggested renting a sandboard at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park and grabbing wax for speed. That’s the level of detail we’re talking about here.

What makes this feature particularly interesting is how it uses your data to personalize recommendations. If Ask Maps knows you’re vegetarian, it’ll skip the steakhouses and suggest plant-based options instead. The same goes for dietary restrictions, travel preferences, and basically anything else Google has logged about you over the years. This is Google’s bigger strategy: weaving AI into every single product they own. They’ve already added Gemini tools to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and created ways for Gemini to control apps like Uber and DoorDash to book rides and order food.

Here’s the thing though, you can’t opt out of Ask Maps. It’s just there, whether you want it or not. That’s becoming pretty standard with Google’s new AI rollouts, and it raises some questions about privacy and choice. On the flip side, if you’re someone who loves having AI assist with trip planning and exploration, this feature is genuinely useful.

The rollout is happening gradually, so you might not see Ask Maps in your Maps app immediately, but it’s coming. When it does arrive, you’ll have a new way to explore the world without leaving the app. Just remember: the more you use it, the smarter it gets about what you actually want to do.