5 ways this Google Maps AI feature helps avoid tourist traps

Google Maps’ new AI chat tool showed up just in time for my Mumbai trip. I had to plan long commutes from the northern side, where I stayed, to the south, and discover all the must-try places in between. It was the perfect opportunity to test out Ask Maps to its limits — because that’s what Mumbai does to you, too. I’m proud that I made the best of this handy AI feature, and I found some amazing ways to make it work harder for me.

Maps operates around mechanical numbers — distance and time — without weighing the hours you spend stuck in traffic or braving the sun. But AI understands those nuances. With access to vast amounts of data (from Maps and beyond), it can plan around your weather or commute, or any other preferences.

You can ask it to plan a half-day in Udaipur with minimal walking in the harsh sun, and it will suggest places close to each other or commute options that avoid the heat. In my case, I asked it to plan a slow evening at Marine Drive, staying late into the night, with a few eateries serving local dishes on the way back home that were open past midnight.

This way, the itinerary adapted to how I wanted to spend my time, instead of me matching their needs.

Google Maps already shows how crowded a place is throughout the day. When planning a full day or weekend itinerary using AI, you can ask it to avoid peak hours, especially at the city’s hotspots. This trick works perfectly for Mumbai’s busiest cafes that typically have long queues and no pre-booking option. We showed up at one just before the rush and found a table instantly.

I’ve used this trick manually before when my family visited the Taj Mahal, but it required a lot of coordination on my part. Now that AI is creating full itineraries, it’s smarter to ask it to avoid rush hours for more pleasant visits and photo ops.

Ask Maps is essentially Gemini built on the vast data Google Maps has gathered through street photography and user reviews. It makes it easy to ask for restaurant and other recommendations, and you can narrow your search down as precisely as you like — an old-school cafe in South Bombay serving vegan meals that’s on the way to your next stop. I sure couldn’t do that before AI, at least not within seconds.

When it gives you options, ask it to justify why it suggested those places and in that order. That forces AI to compare options instead of just listing them. This interrogation mode helps you filter out generic suggestions that are popular but not quite worth it and find genuinely interesting and underrated spots. It’s one way to make AI work smarter rather than lazier.

Finding restaurants is about the cuisine you’re in the mood for, but touristy places rarely get that same vibe check. It usually becomes “what’s convenient right now” and turns into a checklist instead of something that you experience fully.

You can counter that by asking AI to curate your day around vibes. For instance, one weekend we started super early and wanted the first few hours to feel calm and slow. After a hearty breakfast, we wanted something more lively, say, exploring a bustling local market. Then we wanted to end the day on the same peaceful note we started with, so we planned for a quiet evening by the sea.

That gave Maps a rigid structure to work within, so its suggestions were perfectly in tune with what we wanted. They clicked almost instantly with just a brief back-and-forth.

AI in Google Maps has access to tons of quality data from user reviews — the kind of information you wouldn’t find on listings. Like if the road outside a store is broken, if there’s ample parking, or if the toilets are clean.

Shifting focus from what’s good to what actually didn’t work for people, especially at popular touristy spots, gives you a better picture of things to avoid or if something’s acceptable. I’m fine walking around on a warm morning, but if a place smells bad or the staff is rude, I want to know beforehand and, in most cases, skip it.

It’s almost like reading balanced three-star reviews on Amazon; they give you a truer picture of what to expect without leaning on any side.

These have proven to be my most useful Google Maps tricks. They not only make discovery quicker but also smarter and more personalized to my needs in the moment. Ask Maps is something I can’t imagine living without anymore — my thumb automatically reaches for it as soon as I open Maps now.

Do you have any tricks of your own? Let us know in the comments below.