Google Maps turns 20, adds artificial intelligence features and new countries to beat Apple

two decades ago, Google co-founder Larry’s Page I had an idea that would forever change the way we navigate the world.

“Larry drove down some of these streets with a video camera, handed it to someone and said, ‘Hey, what can you do with this?'” said Maria Biggs, technical program manager for Google Street View, a featured feature of Google Maps. .

In a car equipped with the latest Street View camera, Biggs took CNBC for a ride near Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley. First introduced in 2022, it is the first camera model that can be added to any car, rather than being built into the vehicle.

“We’re going to Hawaii with these next-generation camera systems because we don’t have to ship the entire car,” Biggs said. “We can just put the camera system in a box and ship it there and then rent the car when we’re there.”

Biggs said the new technology will allow Google to update data about some places for the first time in 10 years.

“We will be able to easily move these cameras and have more freshness in our maps,” he said.

with more than 2 billion monthly usersGoogle Maps is the world above navigation application. As Maps approaches its 20th anniversary in February, Google is working hard to maintain that lead, with the help of new cameras as well as generative artificial intelligence.

More agile cameras allow Google to make updates in dozens of countries. It is also mapping at least three new countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Namibia and Liechtenstein. Street View cameras are an important part of how Google collects data for Maps, but it also relies on aerial and satellite imagery, and information from more than 1,000 third-party sources, such as governments and local users. This massive data collection system allows Google to offer maps in more than 250 countries and territories.

Gemini also enables voice-activated reporting in Waze, which Google bought in 2013. for 1.3 billion dollars. That data is fed into Google Maps to help alert drivers in both apps about dangers in real time.

“We hope our products help people navigate with more confidence and security,” said Chris Phillips, vice president and general manager of Google Geo, the division that manages Maps. He said Waze is also helping to improve road safety by “letting people know that a particular street has had problems in the past, and we’ve seen a noticeable change in people’s behavior when driving on those streets.” .

Waze is also known for offering alternative routes.

“We’ll give them some more provocative maneuvers along the way,” Phillips said, when it comes to “avoiding traffic and getting around.”

But there are also alternative routes. worsening traffic in some neighborhoods, where small roads may be poorly equipped to support many cars.

Phillips said Google only uses public roads and works with local authorities to comply with rules for specific streets.

“Use of these navigation apps, whether built-in or on smartphone devices, is almost universal,” said James Hodgson, who covers the automotive industry at ABI Research.

Hodgson said a current problem is that technology is targeted on a user-by-user basis. To improve efficiency, he said, “we’re getting closer to a point where you need to take a broader view, almost at the fleet level.”

A major “perception barrier” that Google has faced, Hodgson said, is data privacy.

Identifying information, such as faces and license plates, appears blurred on Google Maps and users can Request to blur an area in Street View to avoid risks such as thieves scanning your property.

Users can also turn off location history or delete places they have been. Certain places like abortion clinics or domestic violence shelters They are automatically deleted. In December, Google started saving location history on devices instead of in the cloud, making it more difficult for authorities to access location history.

What Google spends and earns on Maps is kept secret. Parent company Alphabet does not include Maps in its earnings reports, bundling them with other services like Search and YouTube. One of the only estimates comes from 2019. Morgan Stanley report predicting Maps would go from $2.95 billion in revenue in 2019 to $11 billion in 2023.

Revenue is largely based on a model Google knows well: advertising.

“We’re always focused on giving people the result, when they’re looking for a restaurant or a venue, that most closely matches what they’re looking for,” Phillips said. “And merchants have the opportunity to pay for advertising to get their place on that list.”

Google also makes money by selling a software interface with detailed data to Solar companies looking for new clients.. It has high-precision roof images, measurements, elevation and shading for about 480 million buildings in 40 countries.

Google sells access to its Map platform to companies including fair way and domino. Developers have used it to create more than 10 million sites and apps for things like food delivery, ride-sharing, and real estate. For example, in 2019, Uber he said it paid Google $58 million for its cartographic technology during the previous three years.

from google Android operating system for carsWith Maps, you also make money. Powers the infotainment systems of many cars from Pole Star, volvo, sling, GM and Ford.

As robotaxis become more widespread, accurate mapping is crucial and a huge opportunity for Google.

Waymo, owned by Alphabet dominated the US robotaxi market in 2024, and passengers in Phoenix will be able to hail one of the fully autonomous cars directly from the Google Maps app. Robotaxis also present the potential for a virtuous cycle.

“I think an ambition for Waymo, and something we see in almost every other autonomous vehicle platform provider, is to try to close that loop and use the same vehicles that benefit from the map to also contribute to the creation of that map.” Hodgson said. “That’s the future of mapping for autonomous driving.”

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