Наталя Хандусенко Useful Guidelines 6 February 2025, 18:20

20 useful features of Google Maps: AI, AR, time travel and the ability to save on fuel

Google Maps is 20 years old. Over 2 billion users use the service every month. What are the most popular features? Maybe you missed some.

Some interesting numbers

1 trillion : that's how many kilometers of routes the service offered on Maps in 2024. This is the distance the Earth travels by orbiting the Sun a thousand times.
250 million : This is the number of businesses and places marked on the map. If you visited one of these places every hour without taking a nap, it would take you over 28,500 years to visit all the establishments on the list.
500 million : This is how many users add information like reviews, photos, ratings, and traffic reports to our map every year. A vertical stack of 500 million sheets of paper would be 50 km high.
100 million: The number of updates made to Maps every day. This means that in the time it took to read this sentence, 10,000 updates would have been added to Maps.

1. Travel in style (new)

Now, when you’re driving with Google Maps, you can customize your navigation icon by choosing your vehicle type and color. Choose from a powerful pickup truck, a stylish SUV, a roaring race car, and more in eight vibrant colors to suit your mood. Just start navigating, tap the blue arrow, and let your creativity run wild.

2. Turn to the Cards for Inspiration with Gemini

Need ideas for places to go but don’t have much time? Just ask Maps , like “what to do with friends in New York City tonight,” “winter activities in Seattle,” or “ideas for romantic dates in San Francisco.” Google Maps, powered by Gemini, will suggest the best options for you based on your interests. You can also ask any question about a place, like the dress code or parking availability, and get an instant answer.

3. Learn about the main dishes on the menu

If you’re exploring a new restaurant, use Maps to learn about the most popular dishes in advance. Find a restaurant and scroll to the “main menu items” section to see photos and reviews of the best dishes from the Maps community, helping you showcase your culinary tastes and order with confidence. This feature isn’t available in all countries yet.

4. Quickly navigate an unfamiliar place with the help of augmented reality

Finding your way around a place when you’re exiting a subway station or in an unfamiliar neighborhood can be a challenge. With Lens in Maps, simply tap the camera icon in the search bar and hold up your phone, and augmented reality will instantly show you useful information like the name of the place, its traffic, and ratings. This feature works in over 50 cities worldwide.

5. Travel through time with Street View

Go back in time with Street View to see old friends, family members who are no longer with us , and even funny family moments. You can see how your childhood home has changed over time: Open Google Maps and turn on the Street View layer. Find your home address, click “Show more dates,” and scroll through the images to see how your neighborhood has changed over time. This feature is available depending on whether Google has collected street panoramas of the area at different times.

6. Make reservations directly from Maps

Google Maps makes it easy to book a table at your favorite restaurant. Just find the restaurant on the map and, if it works with Google's reservation partners, tap "Book."

7. Plan meetings with friends using lists

Lists in Google Maps make it easy to save and share information about the places you want to visit. You can create shared lists where everyone can add places and vote on them with emojis (for example, a heart means "want to try" and a thumbs down means "not interested") to quickly make decisions about where to go.

8. Get to your destination without unnecessary stress

Finding the right entrance to a large apartment complex or an unfamiliar building can be challenging. With Arrival Guidance, you can mark the entrance, show the nearest parking spaces, and remind yourself to save your parking spot. Once you’ve parked, you can get walking directions from your car to the entrance—and even enter Street View or AR walking navigation to quickly find your way around. This feature relies on detailed building, parking, and other features.

9. Use AI to preview places and routes

With Immersive View (realistic mode), you can see what stadiums, parks, and routes look like using artificial intelligence, imagery, and computer vision. You can even get weather and road traffic information in advance. If you're traveling by car, be sure to check the location of the nearest parking lots and places where there may be sharp turns - because extra preparation never hurts!

10. Send trip data from your phone to your car

If you're in a hurry, you can plan a route on your phone and send it directly to your car , if it has Google built-in.

11. Check the air quality

Going for a walk or a run? Google Maps shows accurate air quality information based on our comprehensive model that takes into account data from government stations, community sensors, weather conditions, and current traffic conditions. Just click the layers icon and select Air Quality to see a color-coded map of air quality levels. If air quality information is available for your area, you’ll see an icon and a score.

12. Find the most popular restaurants in the city

When you're exploring a new city or just want to find new places in your neighborhood, Google Maps' restaurant listings are here to help. Check out the Trending list for places that are trending recently, the Top list for tried-and-true favorites, and the Gems list for up-and-coming places that few people know about yet.

13. Avoid crowds

It’s helpful to know how busy a place will be before you get there to avoid long lines and save time. Find the place you want on Google Maps and scroll down to the “Peak Hours” section. You’ll see a graph showing when it’s usually busy, as well as the current traffic levels.

14. Don't get lost, even if you don't have an internet connection.

When you're exploring a new city or in an area with poor connectivity, you can still use Google Maps offline to access important navigation information. Search for an area, tap the name or address, and select Download to access navigation and key details without a connection. Perfect for traveling outside of town.

15. Feel confident when traveling by electric car

Worries about electric vehicle range are real. Google Maps can help alleviate those fears. Simply add your car’s make and model to Maps, and we’ll automatically show you compatible charging stations near you or along your route. Save time by using the “speed” filter to find stations that can charge in as little as 40 minutes. This feature works where charging station and road network data is available.

16. Find out about the accessibility of any place

For people with disabilities: Turn on Accessible Places in Settings and a wheelchair icon will show you if a place has accessible entrances, seating, restrooms, and parking. People with vision impairments can get turn-by-turn voice directions while walking, including helpful notifications about directions, upcoming turns, and nearby intersections. (If you see Accessible Places in the Maps menu, it’s available in your area.)

17. Minimize airport stress with the Catalog tab

Finding your way around an unfamiliar airport can be a daunting task, but Google Maps can help. On your next trip, find your airport on the map and click on the “Directory” tab. You’ll see all the available amenities, including restaurants, shops, lounges, parking, car rentals, and more, to make your trip more convenient.

18. Be prepared for all types of terrain

Did you know that Google Maps can display terrain, showing mountains, valleys, and other natural features? To turn this layer on, click on the layers icon and select “Terrain.” This feature is especially useful for hikers, cyclists, and outdoor enthusiasts who want to take elevation changes into account when planning routes.

19. Save money and fuel

To help you get around more sustainably, Maps’ fuel-efficient route selection feature (now available worldwide!) uses artificial intelligence to show you the most fuel-efficient or energy-efficient route to your destination, even if it’s not the fastest. Just open directions and tap a route with a green leaf.

20. Have fun with Pegman

Pegman is our favorite Street View character, and depending on what part of the world you’re viewing, he can transform into someone new! For example, visit Loch Ness in Scotland with the Loch Ness Monster.

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