Waze's latest update is all about Gemini, and it's picking up your driving habits too

Waze is fundamentally different from Google Maps in its philosophy; it’s primarily designed with drivers and riders in mind, and places a heavy emphasis on crowdsourced data. This data is also richer in detail and more descriptive than in Maps, which keeps it relevant to date. That’s also one of the reasons why Google sends occasional updates to Waze, keeping it alive for its individual appeal, rather than merging it with Google Maps. Today, Waze gets another big update that blesses it with some of the smartest features in Google Maps.

The Waze team at Google is rolling out an update heavy on Gemini and AI. For starters, the app’s recommendations will now appear more personalized to you. The announcement notes that Waze will now remember your preferences for routes, whether you like driving the highway with fewer stops or through quicker lanes that beat the traffic, and optimize your route the next time. If you don’t want Waze to show you these recommendations, you can simply turn them off.

In addition to your route personalization, Waze is also adding bike-specific features to Motorcycle mode, which is now supercharged with AI. With this update, Waze will show bike riders specialized routes that may include narrow lanes or shortcuts unsuitable for cars or bigger vehicles. And along this route, you will also be notified of any hazards or potential stoppages, such as speed bumps, raised crosswalks, narrow bridges, etc.

Waze has engaged dedicated Map editors who scrutinize these additions to its database. The Motorcycle mode is rolling out in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines.

Gemini’s ability to hold a conversation longer than Google Assistant is also trickling down Waze’s feature list. While the Gemini-powered Conversational Reporting feature in Waze already lets you describe road incidents, such as accidents or slowdowns, you can now report a wider variety of occurrences, including road closures or incorrect addresses, by talking to the app.

You can now also rely on Gemini to get recommendations based on vague descriptions, such as when you try to “Find a gas station which also sells coffee with vegan milk options” along your way, Waze should be able to pull up recommendations, just as the Ask Maps feature would. This feature also solves for instances when you don’t remember the exact name of where you’d like to go.

Alternatively, if you’d rather have the app focus on playing media instead of nudging you frequently, you can now also toggle a “less chatty” mode, where Waze only informs you about crucial hazards or obstructions on the way.

Apart from the improved Motorcycle mode, all Waze features are rolling out to both Android and iOS users worldwide.