Google Maps Gets New Features in India: Conversational Driving Experience, Proactive Traffic Alerts and More

Google Maps introduced 10 new features to India on Thursday, including Gemini-powered artificial intelligence (AI) features, new safety and disruption notifications, and support for newer travel modes. Among the features, the biggest announcement from the Mountain View-based tech giant was the platform's first hands-free, conversational driving experience in Maps. The company also introduced proactive local tips, which build on last year's AI-powered Inspirations feature. Some of these new features were announced in the US on Wednesday, making India the first expansion.

Google Maps India Brings 10 New Features

In a press briefing, the tech giant introduced the new India-focused features. Some of these features are exclusive to the country, while others are being added as Google Maps' first expansion outside of the US. However, each feature has its own timeline for when it will be available to users.

Coming to the biggest highlight, the hands-free conversational driving experience brings Gemini's voice interaction capability within Maps. With this, users can ask about local places on the route, find electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and even share their expected time to arrive (ETA) with their friends.

Gemini also allows users to ask multi-step questions. Highlighting an example, the company said it will be able to handle the query, “Is there a budget-friendly restaurant with vegan options along my route, something within a couple of miles? What's parking like there?” Users can also take it one step forward, and with permission, let Maps create a Calendar event for the planned itinerary.

Google Maps is also bringing Proactive Local Tips to India. Powered by Gemini, the feature provides tips about the destination and the route of the user, letting them stay up-to-date with places of attraction and local businesses. This builds on the Inspirations feature that was introduced within the platform in November 2024.

Next, Maps can now answer questions about Places. Another Gemini feature, the platform now answers questions about places using data such as reviews, photos, and details. So, users do not have to switch apps while researching or navigating their destination. All three of these features are coming to iOS and Android in the coming days.

Proactive Traffic Alerts are also coming to Indian users. This was announced for the US on Wednesday, and is now being brought to the country. It provides alerts about traffic jams, road closures, and other delays, even when the user is not actively navigating. This will be available to Android users in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai over the next few weeks.

Google Maps is also focusing on user safety with the new Accident-Prone Area Alerts. It uses government data to alert users when they are travelling through an accident-prone area. It is coming to both Android and iOS users in Gurugram, Cyberabad region in Hyderabad, Chandigarh, and Faridabad.

Additionally, using the same government data, the platform will also highlight Authoritative Speed Limits whenever users enter a road where this is applicable. Users can see the official speed limit next to the speedometer at the bottom-left corner. This is coming to both Android and iOS users in the next few days, and will initially be available in nine cities, including Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurugram, Jaipur, Faridabad, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad.

Further, Google is also partnering with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to receive real-time authoritative data about road closures and repairs. Maps will then show this information to users so that they can plan their routes better. Notably, NHAI is making this feature available to everyone via its API Setu.

Coming to Google Maps' new initiatives, users can now book Metro tickets on the app. The new service connects the user with the concerned booking platform without them having to leave the platform. The feature is currently available in Delhi, Bengaluru, Kochi, and Chennai. The company said that it will also be launched in Mumbai soon. Notably, the purchased tickets can be directly saved to Google Wallets and accessed via Maps.

Flyover navigation was recently added to Google Maps, which tells users when to take a flyover and when not to. Now, the company is adding voice navigation support to the feature so that users do not have to look at the screen at high speeds or in congested traffic. The hands-free guidance is coming to Android and iOS users in nine Indian languages over the coming weeks.

Finally, the company is now bringing customisable two-wheeler navigation avatars for users. The India-exclusive feature will allow users to choose from different two-wheeler icons and then customise them in their favourite colours. It will be rolled out to Android users in India over the coming weeks.