Google Maps Has Launched 'Agentic Food Ordering,' but Don't Get Too Excited

As one of the biggest tech companies in the world, Google is putting its AI features and platforms into each and every one of its products. As such, it’s no surprise that its wildly popular navigation app, Google Maps, is getting the same treatment. While it's easy to use the app without encountering much AI, if you so choose, you can use Google’s latest AI features to find new restaurants, accommodations, or hot spots in your area. And now, Google is boasting that it is launching new "agentic" features that will even allow the app to order food for you—sort of. Ask Maps gets an agentic upgrade Back in March, the company rolled out “ Ask Maps ,” a chatbot-like interface in Google Maps that taps into Gemini to help you find relevant places on the map. For example, Google says you can “Ask Maps” to find you a restaurant with availability for six at a specific date and time, keeping in mind strict dietary requirements. It’s about what you’d expect from the combination of Gemini and Google Maps: You “chat” with the map to find what you need.  Now, Google is expanding on these features , introducing new agentic options to reduce the work you actually have to do to pick up lunch (if not by all that much). Starting today, Google says Ask Maps can handle “complex, multi-step tasks," including functions it can handle on your behalf, and the flagship feature is ordering food for you—or, at least, startin…