Waze’s New Gemini AI Features Are Here. One Mode Isn’t Coming to Canada Yet.

Waze is pushing out a batch of updates that lean on Google’s Gemini AI to make navigation feel more like a conversation and less like tapping through menus.

The Google-owned app announced the changes today, and they cover everything from motorcycle routing to a quieter voice option.

Riding a motorcycle isn’t the same as driving a car, so Waze built a mode just for it. Using AI and a team of map editors, the new mode steers riders away from narrow streets and rough pavement that don’t work well on two wheels. It also warns about potholes, speed bumps, raised crosswalks and narrow bridges, and gives more accurate arrival times.

It’s rolling out on Android and iOS in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines for now, with more countries coming. So no Canada for now, just yet.

Waze will now look at your past trips and suggest routes based on what you actually tend to pick. If you always take the highway instead of a local road full of stop signs, it’ll lean that way. Don’t want it? You can turn the personalization off in settings.

There’s also a new “less chatty” mode for anyone who’d rather listen to music or a podcast in peace. It cuts the routine announcements and only speaks up for turns, lane changes and hazards. Both features are going out globally.

Waze is expanding its Gemini-powered Conversational Reporting. Instead of digging through menus to report a problem, you can just say something like “The road is closed here” and it flags the spot for local map editors to check.

The app is also testing voice search with its beta users. You can ask open-ended stuff like “Find me a coffee shop that’s open right now” or “Find me parking close to Grand Mall.” Gemini looks up the details and gives you a list you can pick from by voice.

Are you still using Waze nowadays on your commute?