Google adds Gemini to Maps in India, along with road safety alerts and more information about routes.
The AI integration, released in the US on Wednesday, brings hands-free AI assistance to Maps, as well as contextual navigation suggestions and POI information.
Miriam Daniel, vice president and head of Google Maps, said the launch required significant localization.
“When we say localization for India, it’s not just the language,” he said in a virtual briefing. “It’s also adapting to how Indians use the product, how Indians will talk, how they’ll ask questions, how they’ll identify places, geopolitical places, street names, you know, everything is a little bit different in India.”
Gemini on Maps will be available to all Android and iOS users in India in the coming weeks, Google said. At launch, Gemini will support nine Indian languages.
Google is also adding a set of India-specific navigation and mobility updates. Drivers will get now visual and audio alerts when passing accident-prone areas. Google said it is working on these notifications with local authorities and the feature will roll out to Android users in Gurugram, Hyderabad’s Cyberabad district, Chandigarh and Faridabad.
Google has come under scrutiny in India over the reliability of some navigation paths, after a car went off an unfinished bridge in Uttar Pradesh, killing three men, late last year.
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“Real-world conditions can keep changing and it’s very dynamic and sometimes it changes in an instant. Maps can’t be accurate 100 percent of the time,” said Anal Ghosh, senior program manager for Google Maps, when asked about warnings about unfinished roads or unfinished bridges. “We would therefore encourage users to ensure they keep their eyes on the road.”
Google said it has partnered with the country’s highway regulator, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), to get near-real-time data on road closures, diversions and repair work. The company said the partnership will also allow Maps to display amenities such as public toilets, restaurants and gas stations along national highways.
Other new features include proactive alerts for major interruptions or delays on routes, even when users are not navigating. These alerts are available to Android users for highways and major roads in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
The app will also display speed limits while navigating, using data from local traffic authorities. This feature is available to Android and iOS users in nine cities: Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Hyderabad (including Cyberabad region), Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Noida.
Building on the airplane navigation feature that launched last year, Maps is now getting voice support for flyovers. This feature will roll out to Android and iOS users in the coming weeks.
