On July 13, Google announced five new Gemini-powered AI features for waze. However, practical testing by Lifewire found that only three are currently available to most American drivers.
Motorcycle mode and Gemini-powered destination search remain restricted by region or beta access. The three features available to US users are personalized navigation, less chatty mode, and conversational road reports, although one of them didn’t work during testing.
These features are part of Google’s broader Gemini initiative, which also extends to Google Maps.
Two functions still limited in Waze
Two of the five announced features are limited by geographic availability or require registration.
Motorcycle mode uses AI to highlight specific two-wheeled vehicle hazards, including narrow bridges and shoulder endings. Google is rolling it out only in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines, so American drivers can’t enable it.
Destination search powered by Gemini allows drivers to use the voice icon to ask conversational queries, such as finding an open coffee shop. This feature is limited to the Waze beta community. According to Lifewire, the beta program was full during testing, preventing new users from joining.
Lifewire recommends enabling the least chatty mode. This feature reduces the frequency of voice prompts, preserving important alerts about hazards, turns and lane changes while minimizing repetition.
Previously, Waze’s voice and sound menu included Normal, Alerts Only, and Off. Alerts only remove the step by step guide and only provide alerts. The less chatty mode offers a middle ground, maintaining a complete navigation guide with fewer and shorter directions.
Lifewire testing found that Normal mode repeated each turn two or three times, with advance warning. With the least chatty mode, the app issued a single instruction per turn without repetitions and offered less advance warning.
This results in reduced preparation time before complex outings. Lifewire found no danger alerts during testing and could not confirm their immediacy in this mode.
Personalized navigation learns driving preferences
Personalized navigation tracks what types of routes a driver tends to select, such as highways over side streets or fewer stops over shorter distances, and displays those preferences first when planning future trips.
These settings are found in Settings, Privacy, Personalization, and then Personalized Browsing, not Browsing Preferences. Includes two options: Get Custom Routes and Get Custom ETAs. These options cannot be changed while the vehicle is moving; The car must be parked to enable them.
Lifewire notes that evaluating whether the feature fits the driver’s habits requires several days of use and cannot be evaluated in a single session. The feature can be disabled if it suggests incorrect routes and drivers can manually select alternative routes at any time.
Conversational road reporting allows drivers to tap the report button, verbally indicate a condition, such as a road closure, and have Gemini send the update directly to local map editors without having to navigate menus.
Lifewire reports that the feature was unresponsive during testing. Two attempts to use the “What do you see?” application from Waze. The panel, with a 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. Testing with and without an Android Auto connection yielded the same result.
Lifewire doesn’t consider the feature to not work for all users, noting that Waze’s implementation has been inconsistent and a fix may be included in a future update.
Which Waze features to enable now
Based on Lifewire testing, US drivers using the latest Waze update can:
- Enable less chatty mode in Sound & Voice settings to reduce voice repetition while maintaining a complete step-by-step guide.
- Enable personalized navigation in Settings, then Privacy, then Personalization, then Personalized Navigation and turn on Get custom routes and Get custom ETAs while parked.
- Please note that conversational road reports are unreliable at this time, as they were unresponsive during testing. Continue using the existing one-touch report button.
- If destination search powered by Gemini is a priority, check the Play Store for beta program availability. Please note that the beta was full during testing.
Google hasn’t provided a timeline for expanding motorcycle mode beyond the initial seven countries, opening up more Waze beta spaces for destination search, or addressing conversational reporting issues identified in testing.
All three widely available features require the latest Waze update and rollout time may vary by device and region.
