Google Maps is now integrating the Gemini AI model from Google, rolling out new features as of November 5, 2025, to provide more conversational directions, real-time route adjustments, and personalized trip assistance.
With this launch, users on Android and iOS can ask Gemini questions like “What are good dinner spots along my route?” or “Avoid tolls and show me an alternate route,” all within Google Maps.
The AI draws on a database of more than 250 million mapped locations and uses existing maps data, reviews, and imagery to ground its suggestions in real-world context.
Navigation is also getting smarter: instead of just announcing “turn right in 200 metres,” Google Maps with Gemini can reference landmarks (“Turn right after the red brick church”) to make directions clearer in unfamiliar places. Another key change: the system can detect traffic disruptions, weather hazards or complex intersections and suggest reroutes proactively—acting almost like a co-pilot.
For travellers and daily commuters, this means fewer taps, less switching between apps, and more fluid interaction with the navigation experience. It also signals Google’s broader push to embed generative AI into core services. However, Google acknowledges that AI systems can err (“hallucinate”) and says it has built safeguards to keep Gemini’s recommendations reliable.
The rollout is starting in the U.S. and will expand globally, though an exact timeline for Nigeria and other markets has not been stated—so users outside early-release zones may need to wait.
