I tried Gemini on Google Maps to plan my day, and the results were impressively good.

You might recognize Gemini as that omnipresent feature in all your Google services, whether you like it or not. While it’s been a somewhat intrusive companion in Gmail for the past year, it’s recently made its way into Maps, and honestly, it’s pretty impressive.

To see how well it works, I had Gemini plan a full day of exploring the city for me. After about an hour of it scouring for activities—like playgrounds near the new light rail, and kid-friendly restaurants with vehicle themes—I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, some suggestions were predictable, but I also discovered a few hidden gems I hadn’t considered before.

Gemini had a tough task ahead: matching my own expertise. I’m a Google Maps enthusiast, using it not just for navigation but also for aimlessly scrolling to see what new spots I can find. This method has led me to discover bike routes, playgrounds, secret parks, and new coffee shops. If I could, I’d spend every day exploring Seattle via public transit, hopping between bookstores and quirky stationery shops. However, I often get overwhelmed by the endless options and end up sticking to familiar neighborhoods. So, I tasked Gemini with guiding me into some less-explored areas.

Gemini appears as “Ask Maps” and opens a text box when you tap on it. It answers queries using data from Google Maps, including user reviews, and can even pull in info from other sources. For instance, if you’re wondering whether to bring an umbrella for your trip across town, it can check the weather for you.

I set my parameters: traveling by public transit, with a lunch stop, a nice walking route, and a coffee shop where I could work on my laptop, all while needing to be home by 4:30. Its initial suggestions were right up my alley—a cafe next to a bookstore and a reliable downtown coffee shop—but I had already visited both recently. After some back-and-forth, we settled on tacos, plants, and a Scandinavian-inspired coffee shop.

Tacos Chukis was a familiar name, but I had never been. I almost missed it since it’s tucked away in a building with several other shops and has no visible sign. But Gemini guided me right to it, just as it opened. The AI itinerary hinted that the house specialty with grilled pineapple was a popular choice, and I quickly understood why. After devouring three fantastic tacos, it was time to move on.

Since I was ahead of schedule, I asked Gemini to find a unique shop nearby to check out before heading to the park. It confidently suggested Elliott Bay Books—a great choice, but definitely not “one block east” as it claimed. This was the only major misstep I encountered, which could have been a hassle if I hadn’t caught it. Did I mention it was pouring rain outside?

After I pointed out the wrong direction, Gemini recalibrated and directed me to Kobo, a charming little store filled with Japanese goods. I had visited their other location a few times but didn’t realize there was one nearby.

By the time I reached Volunteer Park, my jacket was soaked. My umbrella was doing its best, but I needed it to protect my backpack with my laptop. Gemini suggested a scenic loop around the park or a visit to the conservatory—a massive greenhouse—if I wanted to dry off. No contest there.

Plants are amazing, right? Did you know there’s a tree that hollows itself out to attract ants, which then defend it from invaders? That’s wild! This tree is actually at the Volunteer Park Conservatory, a place I had seen but never entered. Admission was $6, and I was a bit annoyed that Gemini didn’t mention that, but it turned out to be a small price for a warm, peaceful escape on a rainy day.

While I was marveling at one of the towering palms and snapping photos, a staff member took me to the cacti room and insisted on taking my picture with the giant cacti. “It’s so beautiful in here I could cry!” she exclaimed as she left me among the cacti. I had to agree. There’s something almost ethereal about cacti, with their various shapes and sizes, from the classic saguaro to others that look like they’re covered in peeling wax paper. They’re hauntingly beautiful up close, like spotting an owl in the wild—definitely not what I expected on a rainy day in the Pacific Northwest.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how tech companies seem to push AI to encourage us to buy more stuff. After a recent chat with a friend, I noticed that every AI demo ends with booking a flight or purchasing new sneakers, which is getting a bit stale. It’s not just a tech issue; I’ve also been examining my own habit of seeking transactions whenever I leave the house.

I tend to gravitate toward places where I can leave with a new book, coffee, or treat, partly to ease the anxiety of just existing in the world. With so many options on the map, how do you choose? What if you pick the wrong place and have a bad experience? Buying a little something reassures me that I went somewhere worthwhile, but that feeling fades quickly, leading me back to Google Maps to plan another outing for the perfect home goods store that will somehow fix everything.

In any case, I did leave the conservatory with a couple of mementos—a soggy admission ticket and some kid-sized gardening tools from the gift shop. My child loves digging in the yard while I pull weeds, and I want to encourage that more. Sometimes, the best outing can just be playing in the dirt right outside your door. Anyway, a warm, dry route 10 bus was waiting to take me to my final stop of the day: coffee.

I hadn’t heard of Day Made Kaffe, which surprised me since I’m often in that neighborhood. Based on Gemini’s description of a minimalist yet cozy coffee shop, it sounded like my kind of place. When I walked in, I realized I had been there before, back when it was a fancy home goods store where I bought a couple of Christmas gifts in 2024. Time really is a flat circle.

Gemini didn’t let me down; Day Made is totally my vibe. The coffee was excellent, and the atmosphere was perfect. Although the cardamom bun Gemini recommended wasn’t available, I opted for a pastry with guava jelly to brighten the dreary weather. I watched the Artemis II launch on mute, left the shop at 3:40 as instructed, and caught my last bus of the day. I walked in the door at home at 4:26. Perfect timing!

If my day out in the city was a success—and I think it was!—it was thanks to people, not Gemini. Real people wrote the reviews and recommendations that led me to Tacos Chukis. Gemini was just the facilitator. But when navigating the vast and often overwhelming data in Google Maps, a tool like Gemini is incredibly handy.

I often rely on user reviews to determine how kid-friendly a place really is, and Gemini allows me to sift through a lot of those reviews across a wide area to find spots that serve both dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and craft cocktails. Importantly, when it’s time to get from point A to point B, the LLM doesn’t just wing it with transit directions—you can open the transit directions in Google Maps, which provides accurate real-time information.

Gemini also does a solid job of showing its reasoning as it makes suggestions, so you can see where its information comes from. It’s not without its flaws, and that’s a significant concern when you’re relying on it to guide you through the real world. But knowing its limitations, I still find it to be an impressive tool—whether you’re in a rush to find a nearby restaurant with high chairs or on a leisurely adventure of discovery.