Google is rolling out a suite of new features (many powered by generative AI) across its core platforms to help users plan their summer holidays with greater ease and personalisation.
Tools For Inspiration and Planning
It appears that the update spanning Search, Maps, Lens, and Gemini, is designed to keep Google front and centre as more travellers begin to explore AI tools like ChatGPT for trip inspiration and planning.
With updates that offer real-time itinerary suggestions, hotel price tracking, custom trip planners and even the ability to turn screenshots into mapped-out adventures, Google is doubling down on AI’s potential to redefine how we prepare for getaways.
Smarter Search With AI Overviews for Trip Planning
At the heart of the rollout is the expansion of AI Overviews in Google Search, which is now capable of generating detailed travel itineraries based on simple queries.
For example, a search like “create an itinerary for Costa Rica with a focus on nature” will generate a multi-day schedule, featuring activity suggestions, restaurant recommendations, and key places to visit. Users will also be able to see user-contributed photos and reviews, all displayed on an expandable map.
These AI Overviews, which are powered by a customised Gemini model, are currently only available to all U.S.-based users in English, on both mobile and desktop (with no need to sign up for Search Labs). Once an itinerary is generated, users can export it to Docs, Gmail, or save it as a custom list in Google Maps for easy access on the go.
Increased User Engagement
This feature builds on Google’s AI Search experiments in Search Labs, which the company says have already generated billions of AI Overviews. According to Google, these overviews have increased user engagement with Search and boosted traffic to a wider range of websites. As Google says on its blog: “People like that they can get both a quick overview of a topic and links to learn more,” and that “We’ve found that with AI Overviews, people use Search more, and are more satisfied with their results.”
Hotel Price Tracking Goes Global
Another standout update from Google is the launch of hotel price tracking, which appears to be a logical expansion of the popular Google Flights alerts.
For example, users browsing google.com/hotels can now toggle on a price tracking option for specific dates and destinations. Once activated, Google will send an email alert if hotel prices drop significantly, based on your chosen filters (such as star rating, amenities or beach proximity).
The feature is now live globally across mobile and desktop browsers, thereby offering a new way for those planning holidays and getaways to (hopefully) save money during the booking process.
Maps Gets Smarter with Screenshot Integration
Google Maps is also getting a clever new upgrade. A common bugbear by travellers using Google Maps up until now has been the difficulty in managing the dozens of screenshots we take while researching holidays, from must-visit restaurants to hotel options and quirky local attractions. However, it seems that this new update means Maps can turn that visual clutter into something that may be genuinely useful.
For example, using Gemini’s image recognition capabilities, Google Maps will identify landmarks, businesses and attractions in users’ screenshots (provided the user grants the app access to their photos). From there, users can review and save these locations to a travel list, which will appear as pins on the user’s map. This feature is rolling out this week on iOS in English in the U.S., with Android support “coming soon,” according to Google.
The Gemini Gems Personal Trip Planner Is Now Free for All
Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, is being positioned as a travel buddy in its own right. A new feature called Gems allows users to create personalised AI agents, or “Gems”, that can help with specific tasks, such as trip planning, itinerary curation, or packing lists.
For example, a user could create a Gem that specialises in budget-friendly European trips, or one that only recommends dog-friendly hotels. Users can set up these Gems via the “Gems manager” on desktop, and they’re now available free of charge.
Also, if users aren’t sure where to start, Gemini can help in drafting the setup using a “magic wand” tool that expands on a basic idea. As Google says about the feature on its blog: “Now you have a travel guide at your fingertips to help you pick a destination, find restaurants in a new city or even suggest what to pack”.
Lens As A Pocket Tour Guide
Also in the new mix is an update to Google Lens, the company’s AI-powered visual search tool. While it’s long been able to translate signs and menus, Lens now supports AI Overviews too.
For example, if users point their phone’s camera at a building, landmark or mysterious object and ask questions like “what is this?”, the tool will deliver AI-generated insights, along with links to relevant online resources.
This may be particularly useful for cultural tourism, e.g. spotting unusual architectural features in city streets or identifying historical plaques while wandering through old European towns.
Lens’ new AI Overviews are already available for English users and will soon expand to languages including Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, in most countries where AI Overviews are active.
Why Now? Google’s Bid to Stay Ahead
It seems it’s no coincidence that Google is launching these travel-focused AI features just ahead of the summer rush, and at a time when travellers are increasingly turning to generative AI platforms like ChatGPT for itinerary building, travel hacks and destination research.
By integrating Gemini deeply into Search, Maps and Lens, Google appears to be aiming to maintain its dominance as the go-to tool for everyday planning. There’s also likely to be a broader strategic play where, in a world where large language models can provide well-rounded answers to complex queries, Google needs to prove it can do more than just return links.
Google’s generative AI push, particularly through the custom Gemini model embedded in Search, may therefore be an attempt to leapfrog competitors by offering deeper context, personalisation and functionality, all while keeping users within Google’s ecosystem.
What It Means for Users and Google’s Competitors
From the user’s perspective, the appeal is clear, i.e. less time spent bouncing between tabs and apps, and more coherent, streamlined planning experiences. For travellers in particular, it removes much of the friction that can turn holiday prep into a chore.
However, the rollout is heavily U.S.-centric for now, with many features restricted to English queries and limited platforms. Google has promised broader global access “soon,” but it remains to be seen how quickly that happens, and how seamlessly these tools will translate to other markets and languages.
For competitors like OpenAI, Expedia and other travel-focused apps, Google’s integration of AI into Search and Maps could be seen as setting a new bar. In other words, the battle is no longer just about who can answer your questions, but who can help you do something with those answers, from booking flights to building shareable, actionable itineraries.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
By weaving AI more tightly into the platforms people already us (i.e. Search, Maps, Lens and Gemini), Google is effectively trying to become not just the place you go to find information, but the place you go to do something with it. For travellers, the convenience is likely to be attractive but for Google, the strategic value runs deeper. This isn’t just about helping you book a hotel or plan a day out but is more about keeping you inside Google’s ecosystem from inspiration to itinerary, thereby strengthening its role as your go-to AI assistant.
That said, the rollout raises some questions around accessibility and reach. For example, at present, many of the most powerful new features are only available in the U.S. (and just in English), meaning UK users will need to wait a little longer to take full advantage. There’s also the wider concern of how this affects travel publishers, bloggers and third-party platforms that have long relied on Google Search traffic. While Google insists AI Overviews are increasing clicks to a broader range of sites, the company’s tighter grip on the journey from question to action inevitably puts pressure on other players in the space.
For UK businesses, particularly those in travel, hospitality and tourism, the implications are twofold. On the one hand, it opens up new opportunities to reach audiences earlier in their decision-making journey, especially if their content is well-optimised and engaging enough to surface within AI Overviews. However, on the other, it places more power in Google’s hands, with brands having to work harder to stand out in a results page that may be increasingly curated by AI rather than traditional search rankings.
It seems, therefore, that Google’s summer AI upgrades represent more than a seasonal refresh, i.e. they’re more of a sign of the company’s wider ambition to redefine search, streamline planning, and keep pace with the generative AI boom. For users, the trade-off is between ease and control. For businesses, it’s a question of visibility and adaptability. Either way, the travel planning landscape just got a lot more intelligent, and a lot more competitive.
