Google Maps can now place food orders, reserve hotel accommodations, and access your calendar. Maps has officially taken on an agent role.

      TL;DR: Google Maps' Ask Maps introduces agentic features for food ordering, hotel booking, and event ticket purchasing. Personal Intelligence links Gmail and Calendar for customized responses, launching in the US.

      Google Maps has evolved beyond merely providing directions. The company revealed on Thursday that Ask Maps, the conversational tool powered by Gemini that was introduced in March, is now equipped with agentic features that allow users to order food, reserve hotels, and locate event tickets. Users can express their needs in everyday language, and Ask Maps will present options, fill a shopping cart, and handle payments through partner platforms like Uber Eats, Toast, and Square.

      The hotel booking process is similar; for instance, a user can input a request such as “find me a top-rated hotel with an artsy vibe near a gym in downtown Miami for next weekend,” and Ask Maps will compare prices and verify availability before showing options. Users then click through to a partner's site to finalize the booking. A similar approach applies to event discovery: users can inquire about nearby comedy shows or live music, and Ask Maps will provide options along with links to purchase tickets. These new agentic features are being rolled out in the US.

      The more significant enhancement is Personal Intelligence, which links Ask Maps to a user's Gmail and Google Calendar. With user consent, this feature can pull flight information, dinner bookings, or conference schedules from a user's inbox to offer tailored suggestions without requiring them to provide all the details. This feature is turned off by default. Additionally, Ask Maps will remember past conversations, allowing users to continue trip planning from where they left off. A live transit widget that tracks delays in real-time is also being introduced.

      This update is a clear indication of Google transforming its products into agents capable of carrying out tasks, rather than merely responding to inquiries. At I/O in May, Google replaced the search box with AI agents that monitor the web, create custom tools, and act on behalf of users. Ask Maps is now applying this concept within a navigation application that is used by over a billion people each month. The challenge remains whether users will trust a map to order their meals and how restaurants, hotels, and ticketing platforms will perceive these handoffs—whether as a distribution opportunity or disintermediation.