Google Maps has spent years perfecting directions. Now it is trying to understand intentions.
With the rollout of its new Ask Maps feature, Google is nudging one of its most widely used apps into a different role. It no longer just helps you find places. It tries to interpret what kind of place you actually want. Instead of typing in something like “restaurant” or “parking,” you can now ask questions that sound like something you would say out loud, the kind of slightly vague, slightly emotional requests that used to stump a search bar.
