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Google Rolls Out New Travel Features, Just in Time for Summer

Gemini can call around to find that one travel essential you forgot about.

Headshot of Macy Meyer
Headshot of Macy Meyer
Macy Meyer Writer II
Macy is a writer on the AI Team. She covers how AI is changing daily life and how to make the most of it. This includes writing about consumer AI products and their real-world impact, from breakthrough tools reshaping daily life to the intimate ways people interact with AI technology day-to-day. Macy is a North Carolina native who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in English and a second BA in Journalism. You can reach her at mmeyer@cnet.com.
Expertise Macy covers consumer AI products and their real-world impact Credentials
  • Macy has been working for CNET for coming on 2 years. Prior to CNET, Macy received a North Carolina College Media Association award in sports writing.
Macy Meyer
2 min read
Amidst a breathtaking sunset, an airplane lands gracefully, offering a sense of adventure and escape.

On Friday, Google announced a new feature to track hotel prices and another that can help you in a packing misfire.

 Daniel Garrido/Getty Images

It doesn't matter that it's late April. To me, it's officially summer. With the days getting longer and warmer, and school wrapping up soon, a lot of us are dreaming of summer vacations. 

Google launched some new travel features just in time to start planning those trips. 

You might already be familiar with Google Flights and AI Mode, but Google's two latest travel tools can help you round out the experience even more.

Read also: How to Use Google Maps and Gemini to Plan a Stress-Free Vacation

New Google travel features

On Friday, Google announced a new feature to track hotel prices and another that can help you in a packing mishap. 

Track hotel prices with Google Search

Similar to how you can currently track flight prices, you can now toggle on price tracking for specific hotels on the Google Search results page or via google.com/hotels. 

Last year, Google launched a feature that lets you track hotel prices for a specific city, but that only tracks one hotel you prefer. 

On desktop, you can open Search, look up a hotel, then toggle on the new price tracking. On mobile, you find the price tracking option under the Prices tab. Once you toggle on price tracking, you'll get email alerts when rates drop during your set dates, so you never miss a deal. 

hotel-price-tracking-still-1.png

The hotel tracking tool is available on desktop and mobile. 

 Google

AI Mode will find products you forgot to pack 

Picture this: You land in your dream tropical destination, open your suitcase and realize you forgot to pack sunglasses. A new feature in AI Mode will let you find products in stock nearby. Google's agentic AI will call local stores for you to see if it has the products you're looking for and any relevant deals. 

To get started, you will just need to briefly describe your need, like "I forgot to pack polarized sunglasses. Where can I get some nearby?" From there, Gemini will call local stores and then send you results on where you can shop. 

This tool launched directly on Search in November and is now rolling out over the coming weeks in AI Mode in the US. 

For more travel advice, here's the best time to shop for airline tickets and how to find cheap flights.

Headshot of Macy Meyer
MACY MEYER
Writer II
Macy is a writer on the AI Team. She covers how AI is changing daily life and how to make the most of it. This includes writing about consumer AI products and their real-world impact, from breakthrough tools reshaping daily life to the intimate ways people interact with AI technology day-to-day. Macy is a North Carolina native who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a BA in English and a second BA in Journalism. You can reach her at mmeyer@cnet.com.