Gemini comes to Google Maps Platform, allows devs to deliver concise AI-generated info

The Google I/O livestream event just came and went, and among the many, many AI surprises we saw today were some exciting new Gemini features coming to the Google Maps Platform.

Developers who use Google Maps services for their apps, namely the Places API (Application Programming Interface), will be able to make use of new generative AI summaries of places and areas.

Meaning, their apps' users could easily get helpful and concise information on places they search for, say, restaurants, tourist attractions or hotels.

This will also save a huge amount of time and effort for app developers, who traditionally may need to write their own summaries for every location their apps' users look up.

In Google's blog post about it, the company makes the example of a user searching for "dog friendly cafes", and getting not only relevant results, but photos of dogs at those restaurants shown prominently too.

In addition, the search result includes a brief but prominent description of the restaurant, with a "Summarized with AI" clarifier, which can be expanded by the user for more in-depth information on the location.



It appears that no matter how specific and niche a Maps search can get, the user will receive perfectly relevant, helpful results. Well, presumably so long as there's any information on the location available online, that Gemini can use and summarize.

Again, this is merely one example of the Google Gemini-powered AI features we can expect to arrive on many Android apps pretty soon.

For a larger look at all of the Google Gemini's newly-announced features you can expect in both apps and your Pixel phone, learn more here:

• Google Gemini new functions and features