Maps add local AI and ads

Apple and Google are remaking maps into local search engines: Apple is testing ads in Apple Maps, and Google is rolling out a chatbot inside Google Maps. (blog.google; macrumors.com) Google announced “Ask Maps” on March 12, 2026, as a Gemini-powered feature that lets people ask full questions instead of typing category searches like “coffee near me.” Google said the rollout started in the United States and India on Android and iOS, with desktop coming later. (blog.google; cnbc.com) Google said Ask Maps builds answers from information on more than 300 million places and reviews and photos from more than 500 million contributors. The app can answer queries such as where to charge a phone without a long line or where to find lit public tennis courts at night. (blog.google) Apple, by contrast, is adding sponsored placements to the map itself. Apple said on March 24 that businesses in the United States and Canada will be able to buy local ads in Apple Maps this summer through its new Apple Business platform. (9to5mac.com) In the iOS 26.5 beta, Apple Maps now shows a disclosure screen saying ads may be based on approximate location, current search terms, or the part of the map a person is viewing. Apple said those ads will appear in search results and at the top of a new “Suggested Places” section, and will carry an “Ad” label. (macrumors.com; iclarified.com) The split is clear: Google is using artificial intelligence to change how people ask for places, while Apple is using advertising to change which places get seen first. Both companies are moving beyond turn-by-turn directions into local discovery, recommendations, and business listings. (blog.google; 9to5mac.com) Apple is framing its ad system around privacy. The company said a user’s location and ad interactions in Maps are not linked to an Apple Account, data stays on device, and the company does not share that data with advertisers or other third parties. (9to5mac.com; macrumors.com) Google is framing Ask Maps around usefulness, but it is also expanding a product with more than 2 billion monthly users. In a March 12 interview, Google said it was not putting ads inside Ask Maps at launch, while leaving open the possibility later. (cnbc.com) For local businesses, the changes point in two directions at once. Apple is selling sponsored visibility inside Maps, while Google is asking businesses to compete for inclusion in an artificial intelligence answer built from listings, reviews, photos, and prior user behavior. (9to5mac.com; blog.google) The next test is whether people trust a map that talks back, or a map that sells placement, when they are just trying to find a coffee shop, a charger, or a place to stop. (blog.google; macrumors.com)