Waze Adds Motorcycle Mode and Personalized Navigation in a Five-Feature Gemini Push
Five features announced directly on the Waze blog today. Motorcycle mode is the first for any major navigation app.
Google published five Waze updates today on the official Waze blog, with Waze motorcycle mode as the standout addition. Two-wheelers get dedicated routing that accounts for narrower streets, AI-flagged hazards like potholes, speed bumps, and raised crosswalks, and arrival time estimates based on motorcycle-specific paths rather than car assumptions. Four more features ship alongside it: personalized route suggestions, a quieter voice prompt mode, and two Gemini-powered tools covering map reporting and destination search.
Waze motorcycle mode launches today in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines on Android and iOS. More countries are coming. Powering the hazard data is a community of dedicated motorcycle map editors who continually add new road conditions to the Waze map. No other major navigation app - not Google Maps, not Apple Maps - currently offers a mode built specifically for two-wheeler routing.
Personalized Routes and Quieter Prompts Roll Out Globally Today
Personalized navigation goes live for all Android and iOS users worldwide starting today. Waze learns route preferences - highways versus back streets with multiple stops - and prioritizes those in the suggested route list. Easy to disable. Drivers who want no personalization can turn it off in settings; alternate routes remain one tap away regardless. That opt-out design is more considerate than forcing a preference the app inferred.
Less chatty mode ships globally at the same time. Enabling it tells Waze to cut the volume of voice guidance and shorten any prompts it gives. Hazard warnings, upcoming turns, and lane changes still arrive - just less often. Motorcyclists, podcast listeners, and anyone who finds constant audio interruptions distracting now have a native option inside Waze instead of muting the app entirely.
Gemini Handles Map Updates and Destination Queries by Voice
Conversational Reporting, which launched in beta in October 2024, already let drivers report traffic slowdowns by talking naturally. Today's update extends that to map changes. Say "the road is closed here" and Waze forwards the suggestion to local map editors, who verify it before pushing updates live. Getting map data current has historically depended on volunteer editors finding the problem themselves - this puts the driver who spotted it in the chain.
Gemini-powered destination search rolls out to beta users only. Tapping the voice search icon lets drivers ask questions like "find me a gas station nearby with the lowest prices" or "find me parking close to the mall" before navigating. Waze returns a list of options and starts navigation on voice confirmation. Google has been expanding Gemini's reach across navigation and productivity in parallel - Apple adopted Gemini for Siri at WWDC this year, and Waze is its latest integration on both platforms. Full rollout to all users has no announced timeline.