As the summer travel season approaches, Google is introducing AI-enhanced tools across Maps, Search, and Hotels to streamline the travel planning process. These new features include itinerary-building tools and an expansion of multilingual AI-powered search capabilities.
Google’s AI Overviews is getting an upgrade – the feature currently summarizes key information at the top of search results and is designed to provide users with concise yet informative responses without requiring them to scroll through multiple web pages. Now, this functionality is being extended to travel-related searches, enabling users to generate AI-curated itineraries for specific destinations. By entering queries like “create a vacation itinerary for Greece that focuses on history”, for example, users will receive a structured list of recommended activities, locations, and landmarks. These itineraries will be accompanied by user-generated reviews, photos, and an interactive map, allowing travelers to explore potential destinations more efficiently.
Additionally, these AI Overviews can be exported directly to Google’s other services, such as Docs and Gmail, making it easier for users to compile their travel plans. The feature is currently being rolled out for English-language searches in the US across both mobile and desktop platforms. This means that users no longer need to manually sift through multiple web pages to plan a trip. Instead, they can generate customized itineraries for entire countries or specific regions by simply entering queries to get structured plans.
In addition to this, Google is also making AI tools more accessible to users worldwide by removing linguistic barriers. In this vein, the tech titan is now expanding the language support for its AI Overviews in Google Lens. Previously limited to English, this feature will now be available in Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. The expansion of multilingual support is expected to improve accessibility for users who rely on visual-based search assistance in non-English-speaking regions.
Alongside the updates to Search, Google is also expanding its price-tracking capabilities beyond flights to include hotels. The new tool enables users to monitor hotel prices for specific destinations and dates, with the option to receive email notifications when prices drop significantly. The feature functions similarly to Google Flights’ price alert system, allowing users to customize filters based on hotel ratings, location preferences, and amenities such as beach access. This update is being rolled out globally, and will enable users to secure the best deals without constantly checking for price changes manually, thus makes booking accommodations more cost-effective and less stressful.
Furthermore, Google is introducing an AI-powered feature in Google Maps that enables the platform to recognize locations from screenshots stored on a user’s device. Taking screenshots of social media posts, travel recommendations, or online articles is a common practice, and with this new feature, Google Maps can scan screenshots, identify referenced locations, and provide an option to save them to a custom list. Users will also have the ability to review the recognized locations before adding them to ensure accuracy. Once saved, these locations will appear on Google Maps, helping users maintain a clear and organized travel itinerary. This screenshot-based recognition tool is currently rolling out to iOS users in the US, with Android support expected to follow later on.
In addition to this, the company has decided to discontinue its “AI While Browsing” feature, which was previously part of its Search Generative Experience (SGE). This tool was originally designed to summarize key points from long-form articles, allowing users to quickly grasp the main ideas without reading the full content. However, a wave of criticism prompted Google to remove the feature.
Source : The Tech Portal
