Google Maps turns 20, adds AI features, new countries to beat Apple

Twenty years ago, Google co-founder Larry Page had an idea that would forever change the way we navigate the world.

“Larry walked down some of these streets with a video camera, handed it to someone and said, ‘Hey, what can you do with this?'” said Maria Biggs, technical program manager at Google Street View, an important feature of Google Maps. .

In a car equipped with the latest Street View camera, Biggs took CNBC for a spin near Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. First introduced in 2022, it is the first camera model that can be added to any car, rather than being integrated into the vehicle.

“We’re going to Hawaii with these next-generation camera systems because we don’t have to ship the whole car,” Biggs said. “We can just put the camera system in a box and ship it to location, then rent the car when we get there.”

Biggs said the new technology will allow Google to update data on certain locations for the first time in 10 years.

“We’re going to be able to easily move these cameras around and have more freshness in our maps,” she said.

With more than 2 billion monthly usersGoogle Maps is the world leader high navigation app. As Maps approaches its 20th anniversary in February, Google is working hard to maintain that lead, with the help of new cameras and generative artificial intelligence.

The most agile cameras allow Google to make updates in dozens of countries. It also maps at least three new ones: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Namibia and Liechtenstein. Street View cameras play an important role in how Google collects data for Maps, but they also rely on satellite and aerial imagery, as well as information from more than 1,000 third-party sources, such as governments premises and users. This mass data collection system allows Google to offer maps in more than 250 countries and territories.

In October, Google enabled Maps with Gemini, its generative AI chatbot. Gemini can help you find places that meet a detailed set of specifications, like a dog-friendly sports bar with a TV and outdoor dining. It can summarize thousands of reviews, provide drivers with real-time reports on disruptions such as unplowed roads or flooded areas, and overlay weather conditions onto an immersive view throughout the journey.

In public transportation, there are now delay reports, alternative routes, and details such as the location of subway entrances. At your destination, Maps can make parking suggestions and then help you with walking directions from there.

Gemini also enables voice-activated reporting in Waze, which Google purchased in 2013. for $1.3 billion. This data is fed into Google Maps to help alert drivers in both apps of dangers in real time.

“We hope our products will help people navigate with more confidence and security,” said Chris Phillips, vice president and general manager of Google Geo, the division that runs Maps. He added that Waze also helps improve safety on the roads by “letting people know that a particular street has had problems in the past, and we’ve seen a noticeable change in people’s behavior when driving in these streets.”

Waze is also known for offering alternative routes.

“We’ll give you more provocative maneuvers along the way,” Phillips said, when it comes to “dodging traffic and getting around.”

But alternative routes have also worsening of traffic in some neighborhoods, where small roads may be poorly equipped to accommodate many cars.

Phillips said Google only uses public roads and works with local authorities to follow rules for specific streets.

“The use of these navigation apps, whether built-in or on smartphones, is almost universal,” said James Hodgson, head of automotive for ABI Research.

Hodgson said one of the current problems is that the technology is targeted on a user-by-user basis. To improve efficiency, he said, “we are approaching a point where it is necessary to have a broader view, almost at the fleet level.”

According to Hodgson, one of the biggest “perceptual barriers” Google faces is around data privacy.

Identifying information such as faces and license plates are blurred on Google Maps, and users may ask to blur an area on Street View to avoid a risk such as thieves scanning their property.

Users can also turn off location history or delete places they’ve been to. Some places like abortion clinics or domestic violence shelters are automatically deleted. In December, Google started keeping location history on devices instead of in the cloud, which makes the task more difficult for authorities can access location history.

How much Google spends and earns on Maps is shrouded in secrecy. Parent company Alphabet does not distribute Maps in its revenue reporting, bundling it with other services like search and YouTube. One of the only estimates comes from a 2019 study Morgan Stanley a report forecasting that Maps would grow from $2.95 billion in revenue in 2019 to $11 billion in 2023.

Revenue is largely based on a model that Google knows well: advertising.

“We always strive to give people the result, when they’re looking for a restaurant or a venue, that most closely matches what they’re looking for,” Phillips said. “And merchants have the option to pay for advertising to get their place on that list.”

Google also makes money by selling a software interface with detailed data to solar companies looking for new customers. It provides highly accurate images, measurements, elevations and shadows on the roofs of some 480 million buildings in 40 countries.

Google sells access to its Card platform to companies like Wayfair and Dominos. Developers have used it to create more than 10 million sites and apps for areas such as food delivery, ride sharing and real estate. For example, in 2019, Uber said it paid Google $58 million for its mapping technology over the previous three years.

Google Automotive Android OSwith Maps, also earns money. It powers the infotainment systems of many cars from polar star,Volvo, Honda, General manager And Ford.

As robotaxis become more widespread, accurate mapping is crucial and a big opportunity for Google.

Alphabet-owned Waymo dominated the U.S. robotaxis market in 2024, and passengers in Phoenix can hail one of the fully autonomous cars directly from the Google Maps app. Robotaxis also have the potential for a virtuous circle.

“I think one of Waymo’s ambitions, and something we see with almost every other autonomous vehicle platform provider, is to try to close that loop and use the same vehicles that benefit from the card to also help create this map,” Hodgson said. “This is the future of mapping for autonomous driving.”

Watch the video to learn more.