Google Maps' Ask Maps can now order food for you

Google announced new features for its AI-powered 'Ask Maps' tool in Google Maps, aiming to let users do more without leaving the app. With new agentic capabilities, users can ask Maps to order food, considering dietary needs, location, and saved places; for example, asking to 'order spicy pad kee mao with seafood for me to pick up on my way home' will find open restaurants along the route and add the dish to the cart. Food ordering partners include Square and Toast, with Uber Eats support coming soon. Ask Maps can also find hotels and local events matching specific requirements, and users can contribute and edit location information conversationally, uploading photos like storefront signs from which Maps extracts data. These features roll out in the US now. Google Maps is also adding Personal Intelligence, a Gemini-powered feature that personalizes AI responses by connecting to data from other Google apps like Gmail (disabled by default) and soon Calendar. Real-time transit information for buses, trains, subways, and ferries is added to Ask Maps, rolling out everywhere Ask Maps is available, which now includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, and Mexico.