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Google Maps Can Now Order Your Dinner and Track Your Train Delays

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Google today added new agentic capabilities to the Gemini-powered "Ask Maps" assistant in the Google Maps app.

google-ask-maps.jpg

Ask Maps can complete multi-step tasks, such as ordering a meal for you on your way home. Google says you can simply say something like "order spicy pad kee mao with seafood for me to pick up on my way home," and Maps will find open restaurants along your route, let you pick one, and add the dish you asked for to your cart so you can review it and check out.

Food ordering is rolling out today with partners like Square and Toast, with Uber Eats integration coming soon.

Ask Maps can also look up information about hotels and events when you're traveling, comparing prices in real time and checking availability for a hotel, then offering up ideas on things to do nearby.

Google says its live updates are coming to transit. A transit widget in Ask Maps offers up-to-the-minute information about delays for bus, train, subway, and ferry rides.

A new Personal Intelligence option in Ask Maps allows the feature to connect to Gmail to factor in upcoming plans without needing specific instruction. Connecting to Gmail is opt-in and off by default. Ask Maps can also remember prior conversations for context if history settings are turned on.

There's a conversational edits option for suggesting new details for the Ask Maps feature. You can tell Maps about an insider tip and Ask Maps will offer the information to others in the community.

Ask Maps is also expanding to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, and Mexico, along with over 150 countries and territories in English.

The live transit widget, personalized responses, and conversation memory are rolling out everywhere Ask Maps is available. Food ordering, discovering hotels and events, and conversational contributions are rolling out in the U.S., with more countries set to be added later.

Ask Maps is available on the web and in the Google Maps app for iOS.

Article Link: Google Maps Can Now Order Your Dinner and Track Your Train Delays
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/08/06/google-maps-ask-maps-update/
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MacRumors said:
Google says you can simply say something like "order spicy pad kee mao with seafood for me to pick up on my way home," and Maps will find open restaurants along your route, let you pick one, and add the dish you asked for to your cart so you can review it and check out.
Click to expand...
So, it's not really doing anything? I still have to select the restaurant, review the item in the cart, and make the purchase. I think these other comments are reacting to an implication that it all happens automatically.
 
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mrgraff said:
So, it's not really doing anything? I still have to select the restaurant, review the item in the cart, and make the purchase. I think these other comments are reacting to an implication that it all happens automatically.
Click to expand...
They demonstrate the feature on their blog page. The link is in the article.

blog.google

Ask Maps gets more helpful with food ordering and more

From agentic capabilities and real-time information to personalized recommendations, Ask Maps makes it easier than ever to get more done.
blog.google blog.google
 
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mrgraff said:
Ok? That demo clearly shows finger gestures after the spicy pad kee mao request is spoken. It's barely one step above a Google Maps search for the same thing.
Click to expand...
If the person was more specific in their request, like for example, stating from exactly where they wanted the food ordered, there wouldn’t be the extra step of selecting the restaurant.

Instead, Google Maps presents them choices based on their travel route. Once the restaurant is selected and payment confirmed, it takes care of the rest.

What’s the problem here?
 
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LegendaryTechnician said:
If the person was more specific in their request, like for example, stating from exactly where they wanted the food ordered, there wouldn’t be the extra step of selecting the restaurant.

Instead, Google Maps presents them choices based on their travel route. Once the restaurant is selected and payment confirmed, it takes care of the rest.

What’s the problem here?
Click to expand...
Its such a tech-bro solution to a problem that doesn't exist. If I'm getting take away on the way home, I know what I want and where I want it from. I don't want Google or anyone else sticking their nose in to be a useless middleman!
 
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boswald said:
Ordering a meal for pickup on the way home is "horrifying"? That's a bit extreme, don't you think? I'm no Google lover, but this could really be helpful for those with busy schedules or kids or something. It's the one use of AI that isn't malicious or stupid.
Click to expand...

Yeah well there’s nothing wrong with picking up a phone (non droid) and calling to place the order

LegendaryTechnician said:
Horrifying? Alright, Meryl Streep, dial it down a bit.
Click to expand...

You WISH hit had to be dialed down…wish!

LegendaryTechnician said:
If the person was more specific in their request, like for example, stating from exactly where they wanted the food ordered, there wouldn’t be the extra step of selecting the restaurant.

Instead, Google Maps presents them choices based on their travel route. Once the restaurant is selected and payment confirmed, it takes care of the rest.

What’s the problem here?
Click to expand...

Ummm it’s smoog that’s the problem
 
So far Gemini in Maps has been a buggy downgrade. I see what they’re going for but for me it has been worse than what it replaced. Hopefully that changes soon.
 
How did people survive if they couldn't order their dinner? Did they starve? Get a friend or neighbour to make a call for them?

Perhaps AI will start telling people when they need to shower, or have a ****?
 
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For transit times, I can't quite understand how this is any different to looking for your route and reading the realtime route tracker.

Is the benefit just that now the AI is going to give me a few paragraphs to read?
 
Sounds fun but I would not trust it, today. If you are not careful about what you specify or when you specify or change your mind, it will be a real mess. It is progress, but at the moment these agentic AI operations have been incredibly unreliable for me. Good job I do not rely on them for anything. Great idea though. Trust needs to be earned though.
 
y’all don’t think these apps and devices are doing TOO much? lol

like, I know not every feature is made with me in mind, but jeez. we just have to go with the flow and do things ourselves. 😭
 
i love Apple Maps for simple navigation, but for everything else its like 10 years behind. Apple should step it up and at least get some good search results so i don’t have to flip back to Google Maps and use it like yelp to look up places
 
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