Google is making your summer travels easy with AI updates to Search, Maps, and Shopping

Right in time for summer vacations, Google is upgrading Search with generative AI features. The company is also making it easier to get a list of curated recommendations in Maps and letting you shop more easily with personalized style recommendations in Google Shopping. Maps and Shopping are also getting AI features, such as summaries and text-to-image generation.

Google is upgrading the Search Generative Experience (SGE) in Google Search to make planning your summer travel easier. You can now ask Google Search wider queries like “Plan me a three-day trip to Philadelphia that’s all about history” to get a set of suggestions that include attractions, restaurants, and an overview of flight and hotel options.

Google Search will practically create an itinerary for you that pulls in data from sites across the web, from reviews, photos, and other details that people have submitted to Google for more than 200 million places worldwide.

This capability is available in English in the US. You will need to enroll in Search Labs and enable SGE to try it out.

Google Maps is making it easier to discover lists of recommendations. Starting with select cities in the US and Canada, when you search for these cities, Google Maps will now showcase a list of recommendations for places to visit. This data will be pulled from publishers as well as contributions from members of the Google Maps community.

Additionally, Google Maps is introducing trending, top, and hidden gem restaurant lists that are created by Google Maps based on what people are interested in in that city.

Maps is also making it easier to customize lists. When you create a list of places in Maps, you will be able to choose the order the places appear in. You can organize the places by top favorites or chronologically like an itinerary.

Users will also be able to link to content from social media to add context on why a particular spot was added to a list.

These two updates are coming to Google Maps on Android and iOS globally “later this month,” which means in the next few days.

Google Maps is also using AI to identify key insights about places by tapping into the Maps community. When you search for places in Google Maps, you can now see photos and reviews that summarize what people love about that place.

Cleaner look for Google Maps

Google Maps will also get a fresh look soon, with a cleaner home screen and fewer tabs. The app will also have new pin colors to make finding places on the map easier.

Google has a new personalized style recommendations tool that will help you easily discover more products you like. When users in the US search for apparel or accessories on their mobile browser or through the Google app, they will now see a section labeled “style recommendations.” You can rate options with a thumbs up or down and then get personalized results with items that complement your wardrobe and sense of style. Further, you can also specify what brands you like to get options from those brands.

If the results don’t satisfy your needs, you can get an option to rate more times and instantly see more results. Preferences will be saved, so your style recommendations will remain personalized based on what you have liked and the items you have interacted with.

Google is also adding SGE to Shopping by letting you describe your shopping product to generate a photorealistic image, which you can then use to locate similar shippable products.