Making travel plans with Google can be easy. The company is rolling out a new AI-powered feature that can create customized itineraries, the company said in a blog post on Wednesday.
The new feature is part of the Search Generative Experience (SGE), an experimental version of Google Search that uses AI to quickly answer your questions. To enable SGE, you must sign up for Search Labs.
For example, in search, you can ask Google to plan a three-day trip to Philadelphia that focuses on history, and it will instantly create it for you. Google says the AI will leverage data from across websites, including reviews, photos and business profiles that users have submitted to Google over the years. It will also be possible to export your itinerary to Gmail, Docs or Maps.
See also: Trip planning with AI: I tested this for a city I know inside and out.
AI-generated itineraries are currently only available in English and the US. It’s possible that Ask Google Gemini, the company’s AI-powered chatbot meant to compete with ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, will do the same in a language like Spanish.
The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 started a shift towards AI in the tech industry, with large companies investing billions in the technology. Generative AI takes billions of data points and synthesizes them to create new text, images and even realistic video. This past year, Google has been using AI in all of its core products, from Gmail to the Pixel, to its line of phones.
See it: Review: We tested the Google Pixel 8 and its AI features.
It will likely be a major talking point in May at Google I/O, the search giant’s annual developers conference, where it shows off its latest tech. Google’s lead in AI technology helped propel the company to record highs earlier this year. Excitement cooled somewhat last month after Gemini misrepresented historical figures as people of color.
Circle to Search, a relatively new feature available for the Samsung Galaxy S24 and some Pixel devices, will soon be able to use AI to translate text on your screen just by circling it.
Google Maps is also getting a non-AI travel update in the US and Canada. In Maps, when you type in major cities like Los Angeles and New York, it will give you recommendations and a list of top trending places. You’ll also be able to create a list of places in Maps to help organize your top favorites.
Another non-AI update to Search introduces a new personalized style recommendation tool that works a bit like Tinder, but for clothes. You can swipe left or right on t-shirts to help Google recommend a better fit to buy.