The navigation app Waze, another Google-owned navigation app, will receive a set of new AI-powered features aimed at making navigation easier for motorcycles and making voice instructions less intrusive.

The new Motorcycle Mode uses AI to cater to the specific needs of two-wheeled vehicle users, according to Google.

These features include suggesting shortcuts that may be available only to motorcycles, as well as alerting to hazards that might be more challenging for riders, such as potholes, speed bumps, raised pedestrian crossings, road shoulder ends, and narrow bridges, according to a report by tech news site Engadget, as seen by Al Arabiya Business.

Although the use of AI may raise some questions about the accuracy of the app's motorcycle-specific directions, the app's data still relies on a real-time traffic map, along with a team of editors specialized in motorcycles who continuously update hazard data.

Waze will also receive a set of new personalization features as part of this update.

The app will start suggesting routes based on the user's past trips, alongside its usual traffic-based recommendations. These suggestions can be disabled, but Google believes they may help better anticipate driving preferences.

The app will also add a new mode called 'Less Chatty', which changes the way voice instructions are delivered.

If the user does not like constant interruptions about the next turn or upcoming hazards, activating this mode reduces the number of voice messages and limits them to essential instructions and alerts.

On the other hand, if the user wants to talk to Waze, the integration of the Gemini model into the app enables new capabilities.

Waze had started testing a feature called 'Conversational Reporting' in October 2024, which allows using natural language to report traffic incidents.

With these updates, the feature can also be used to suggest map updates.

Through the voice search feature in Waze, the integration of Gemini allows users to ask questions like 'Find me the nearest gas station with the lowest prices' and get a page with customized results.

Google is rolling out personalization features, the 'Less Chatty' mode, and 'Conversational Reporting' globally on iOS and Android.

As for the Gemini-powered voice search feature, it is currently being rolled out to beta testers of Waze worldwide, while the motorcycle mode is available to users in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines.

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