Overview
- Gemini’s mobile app now includes a Map tool in the bottom tool carousel that opens a live map and lets users pick a circular area to attach to prompts as a “Map Area.”
- Tapping “Explore this area” inserts the Map Area into the prompt box so users can ask about local restaurants, trips, or neighborhood details without typing full addresses.
- The Map tool is available on Android and iOS but is not present on Gemini’s web interface, making the feature mobile-only for now.
- Google is also changing how users summon skills: beta builds show the app replacing the slash (/) trigger with the at sign (@) and a wider prompt UI that surfaces skills and connectors from one place.
- These changes are being staged through beta releases, with the Map widely rolled out on phones and the slash-to-@ and updated skills/connectors interface still limited to beta testers, a shift that could simplify shortcuts and make location-aware prompts more common.