Waze Introduces New AI Powered Features

Google announced five new Gemini-powered AI features for Waze on July 13. However, hands-on testing found that only three are currently available to most US drivers. The three features available to US users are personalized navigation, less chatty mode, and conversational road reporting, though one of these did not function during testing.

These features are part of Google’s broader Gemini initiative, which also extends to Google Maps.

Two of the five announced features are limited by geographic availability or require enrollment. Motorcycle mode uses AI to highlight hazards specific to two-wheeled vehicles, including narrow bridges and shoulder endings. They are rolling it out only in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines, so US drivers cannot enable it.

Gemini-powered destination search allows drivers to use the voice icon to ask conversational queries, such as finding an open coffee shop. This feature is limited to Waze’s beta community.

Less chatty mode reduces the frequency of voice prompts, retaining important alerts for hazards, turns, and lane changes while minimizing repetition.

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Previously, Waze’s Sound and voice menu included Normal, Alerts only, and Off. Alerts only removes turn-by-turn guidance and provides only alerts. Less chatty mode offers a middle ground, maintaining full navigation guidance with fewer and shorter prompts.

Personalized navigation tracks which route types a driver tends to select, such as highways over side streets or fewer stops over shorter distance, and surfaces those preferences first when planning future trips. It includes two toggles: Get personalized routes and Get personalized ETAs. These options cannot be changed while the vehicle is moving; the car must be parked to enable them.

Assessing whether the feature adapts to a driver’s habits requires several days of use and could not be evaluated in a single session. The setting is found under Settings, Privacy, Personalization, then Personalized navigation, not under Navigation preferences.

Conversational road reporting allows drivers to tap the report button, verbally state a condition such as a road closure, and have Gemini send the update directly to local map editors without handling menus.

However, the feature did not respond during testing. Two attempts using Waze’s in-app “What do you see?” panel, with clear speech, produced no response. The only successful report was processed by Android Auto‘s system-level Gemini assistant, not the in-app feature, and followed a different process than Google described.

Lifewire does not consider the feature broken for all users, noting that Waze’s rollout has been inconsistent and a fix may be included in a future update.

US drivers using the latest Waze update can enable less chatty mode and personalized navigation to enhance their driving experience.

Google has not provided a timeline for expanding motorcycle mode beyond the initial seven countries or addressing the conversational reporting issues identified in testing.

Google will likely continue to update Waze with new features.