Navigation app Waze is rolling out an update to its iPhone and Android app to introduce three new AI-powered features.
The first uses your journey history to understand your routing preferences in order to provide personalized navigation options …
The company says this personalized routing will be offered before standard ones.
Everyone has navigation preferences. Now, Waze will suggest routes based on your previous trips, in addition to its hyperlocal understanding of a city’s traffic patterns. So if you prefer driving on highways over local streets with multiple stops, you’ll see those suggested first.
You can also use Gemini-powered chat to find suitable destinations.
Sometimes you know what you need, but not exactly where to go. Now you can use Gemini capabilities to help you find your destination. Before navigating somewhere, tap the search voice icon to ask questions like “Find me a coffee shop that’s open right now,” “Find me parking close to Grand Mall” or even “Find me a gas station nearby with the lowest prices.” Waze will respond with a list of options, and you can quickly start navigating using your voice.
Conversational reporting is being expanded to include permanent changes such as road closures or closed businesses.
Just say, “The road is closed here” and Waze will send these details to local map editors, who verify the suggestion and update the map.
If you want less conversation rather than more, Waze is also offering a “less chatty” mode.
Sometimes, you may want fewer interruptions on your drive so you can focus on music or a podcast. When you choose to enable less chatty mode, Waze minimizes the number of voice prompts and keeps them short. You’ll still get critical reminders about hazards, turns and lane changes, but you’ll get them less frequently so you can concentrate on your audio.
Finally, Waze is beginning the rollout of AI-powered motorcycle navigation.
Motorcycles need different routes than cars; they can access narrower streets and are more sensitive to road surfaces. Our new motorcycle mode uses AI to incorporate two-wheeler shortcuts and restrictions, helping you find the best route and get an accurate ETA. It also shows hazards that are tricky for riders, like potholes, speed bumps, raised crosswalks, shoulder endings and narrow bridges.
However, this latter feature isn’t yet rolling out in the US. It’s initially being limited to Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines.
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