Waze rolls out Gemini-powered features and Motorcycle mode
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- Waze is rolling out personalized navigation globally on Android and iOS, ranking routes based on a user's trip history and city traffic patterns, with users able to opt out in settings.
- Gemini now lets Waze users find destinations through quick chat queries like "Find me a coffee shop that's open right now," rolling out to the Waze beta community globally on Android and iOS.
- Waze introduced a new Motorcycle mode that uses AI to factor in two-wheeler shortcuts, road restrictions, and hazards like potholes, speed bumps, and narrow bridges, launching in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines.
- Waze expanded its existing natural-speech incident reports to include map updates such as road closures and outdated addresses, routing those reports to local map editors.
- Waze added a "less chatty" mode that minimizes voice prompts for drivers focused on music or podcasts, while still alerting them to hazards and turns, rolling out globally on Android and iOS.
- Google is positioning the Waze updates as part of its broader Gemini integration across products, with Waze explicitly named as competing with Apple Maps.
Why it matters: Google is using Waze, with its established driver base, as another on-ramp for Gemini — turning a mapping app into a conversational assistant — while the Motorcycle mode targets seven large two-wheeler markets where Waze's existing infrastructure gives it a data advantage over Apple Maps. Riders in those countries get a first product differentiated by Waze's road-editor network.
