Google’s new ‘Ask Maps’ AI changes local discovery: What multi-location brands should do now

Google has launched “Ask Maps,” a new AI-powered feature inside Google Maps that lets people search in plain language and get back AI‑generated recommendations, not just a list of pins.

Summary of the blog

“Ask Maps” is a sign that local search is moving away from short keyword queries to intent-based conversational discovery. People can now describe what they want, including when they need it, how far they’re willing to go, and what kind of experience they’re after - in the same natural language they would use with a local expert.

For multi-location brands, this raises the importance of accurate listings, recent and detailed reviews, and well-managed location content across every Google Business Profile. It also connects directly to answer engines and LLM‑style search: the clearer your locations look to AI, the more often they will be recommended.

In this blog, you’ll see what “Ask Maps” changes, why it matters for multi-location enterprise brands, and what practical operational steps to take now to stay visible in AI‑driven local discovery.

What are the new Google Maps updates?

Google announced two major updates to Maps: “Ask Maps” and “Immersive Navigation”. Both are substantial changes to how the platform works and how people discover and evaluate local businesses.

For multi‑location brands, “Ask Maps” is the bigger strategic shift because it changes which locations get recommended for complex, real‑world questions.

Ask Maps

“Ask Maps” is the bigger strategic story for marketers. It’s a Gemini-powered conversational feature inside Google Maps that helps users ask more detailed, real-world questions. Google says the system pulls from over 300 million places and draws on contributions from more than 500 million users.

The feature is an important update for multi-location brands because it changes the kinds of searches they need to show up in. A customer might now ask for:

• A family-friendly restaurant with easy parking
• A dentist open late near work
• A salon with strong reviews and a certain vibe
• A place nearby that feels convenient for a quick stop

None of these is a simple “near me” query. They’re specific, intent-driven prompts, and Google is trying to answer them like a knowledgeable local, not just a directory.

Immersive Navigation

“Immersive Navigation” focuses more on the drive itself. Google says it adds more realistic route views, clearer lane guidance, easier route comparisons, and better help near the destination, including parking and entrance details.

How Google Maps is becoming an AI-powered discovery engine

For years, local SEO was about owning the right keywords. If you ran a dental practice, you would fight to rank for “dentist near me.” That game is changing fast.

As the search transitions from “Keyword Mode” to “Intent Mode,” people describe specific situations in natural language instead of just picking a category. Because Gemini can now reason through reviews, photos, and listing data, prompts can be incredibly nuanced: “I need a dentist that’s open after 6 PM, is great with nervous kids, and has a parking lot.”

For multi-location brands, proximity and brand name are no longer enough. You’re competing on how well the AI understands what each of your locations is actually like – and how consistently that story shows up in your Google Business Profiles and reviews.

How ‘Ask Maps’ rewrites the rules of local discovery

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) and reviews are becoming key inputs Google can use to understand and recommend your business. That changes the rules of discovery in four major ways:

1. Discovery is conversational and personalized

Location alone no longer wins. “Ask Maps” combines a user’s Maps history (like searches and saved places) with the context in their prompt — things like time, constraints, and preferences.

If a user asks for restaurant suggestions for a group dinner, the AI may already know they prefer vegan options and will filter recommendations accordingly. For multi-location brands, each location needs clear signals in reviews, photos, and attributes that map to scenarios like “family‑friendly,” “vegan‑friendly,” or “good for groups.”

2. Reviews are one of the most valuable signals in AI-driven local discovery

Gemini reads reviews like a researcher, looking for specifics that match what someone asked for. It pulls “insider tips” from review text (things like a hidden parking entrance or a quiet corner table) and uses them to fill in features like “Know before you go.” 

Locations with thin or vague online reviews give the AI very little to go on. For multi-location brands, generating high volumes of detailed, attribute‑rich reviews at every location becomes a visibility task, not just a reputation task

3. Profile accuracy is non-negotiable

When “Ask Maps” generates a recommendation, it works entirely from what’s in the profile and what customers say about you. Outdated hours, missing services, or wrong categories directly affect whether you get recommended — especially when a query includes constraints like “open now,” “wheelchair accessible,” or “offers curbside pickup.”.

4. Optimizing for direct action

“Ask Maps” doesn’t just suggest places. It helps users execute their plans. From an AI response, users can book a reservation, place an order, save a location, or start navigation in a few taps. If those buttons are broken or missing, you lose the lead even after being recommended.

Why is ‘Ask Maps’ a bigger operational shift for multi-location brands?

For a single-location business, adapting to “Ask Maps” is relatively simple. There is one profile to update, one stream of reviews to manage, and one local market to watch.

Multi-location brands have a much bigger challenge. Every location has its own review history, competitive landscape, and data gaps. That means thinking less about overall brand presence and more about whether each individual location is ready to be found.

Some questions worth asking across your portfolio:

• Does each location have enough recent, detailed reviews that mention what makes it unique?
• Are services, hours, and attributes accurate across all branches with clear ownership?
• Do photos reflect the real experience at each location, including exterior, interior, and parking?

AI-driven discovery makes location-level gaps easier to see and easier for competitors to exploit. A strong national brand name helps, but a location with stale reviews or missing details can quietly drop off the radar even while others in the same brand are gaining share.

What should multi-location brands do to optimize for ‘Ask Maps’?

Here’s a practical checklist for multi-location brands adapting to “Ask Maps”:

1. Audit every Google Business Profile

Review hours, categories, phone numbers, website links, booking links, services, attributes, and photos across every location. Fix anything outdated, incomplete, or inconsistent. “Ask Maps” depends on strong underlying place data, so profile quality is now a bigger discovery lever, not just a maintenance task, especially when you manage hundreds of profiles.

2. Improve review recency and review detail

Focus on generating more fresh reviews at the location level and encourage customers to include real details, such as how long the wait was, whether parking was easy, and how staff handled a specific situation. Generic five-star reviews don’t give the AI much to parse. Detailed reviews tell Ask Maps exactly when your location is the best fit.

3. Identify the themes customers repeat most often

Pay attention to the words that keep appearing across your reviews. Those patterns tell you how customers experience a location and how Google interprets it in conversational discovery. Words like “convenient,” “family-friendly,” “fast,” “helpful”, or “easy to reach” aren’t just sentiment signals anymore – they’re the phrases that get a location matched to real‑world questions.

4. Add richer location details wherever possible

Fill in services, specialties, amenities, accessibility details, and photos for each location. The more complete the profile, the more confidently Google can match it to a specific, multi-constraint request.

5. Make every profile easy to act on

“Ask Maps” is built to move people from question to action fast. Make sure calls connect, directions are accurate, booking links work, and websites load. When discovery happens in seconds, a broken link ends the journey before it starts.

6. Monitor location-level performance trends as rollout expands

Track changes in calls, direction requests, and profile views by location as the feature rolls out. Locations with strong profiles may start pulling ahead, and that data tells you where to focus next.

Over time, sudden lifts or drops in these metrics — when you haven’t changed anything else — can act as a proxy signal for how often Ask Maps is recommending a given location.

For multi-location brands, the takeaway is simple: the easier you are for Google to understand, the easier you are to recommend.

FAQs about the new ‘Ask Maps’ in Google Maps

How Birdeye helps you win in the AI era

When AI decides who gets recommended, your reviews, listings, and customer signals are what it’s working from, not your brand equity or your ad budget. Birdeye is the #1 Agentic Marketing Platform, purpose-built to help multi-location brands master Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).

• Marketing agents for AEO: Use the Review Generation Agent to build the high-volume, text-rich signals that engines like Gemini and Search overviews use as their primary source of truth.
• Governed listing precision: Ensure hours, photos, and location attributes are unified across your entire portfolio instantly, providing the “ground truth” data AI models require for high-confidence recommendations.
• Local intelligence: Use a unified CDP to identify which customer sentiments are driving your AI search visibility and bridge the gaps in your brand’s conversational profile.
• AI search visibility: Use Birdeye Search AI to understand how your locations appear in AI-powered search experiences and spot where stronger reviews, richer listing details, or clearer location signals can improve visibility.
• Unified messaging: Capture the leads that “Ask Maps” generates by responding instantly when users click “Message” from an AI response.

Want to know how multi-location brands use Birdeye to improve reviews, listings, and visibility in Google’s new AI-driven local discovery experience? Watch a demo to find out.