Waze wants you to go hands-free with new voice reporting for incidents

Key Takeaways

• Google Maps recently simplified incident reporting, but Waze just one-upped Google Maps.
• The navigation app announced that it will soon allow users to report incidents by using their voice, essentially by speaking to the app.
• Additionally, later this year, School zones will also be added to Waze maps globally.

Google streamlined incident reporting on Google Maps earlier this year, and it is now doing the same with its 2013-acquired navigation app Waze.

Prior to the recent update, Google Maps users, mid-drive, had to swipe up from the app's bottom bar to pull up the trip information panel which housed the Add a Report button. To make incident reporting easier, Google eliminated the need to pull up the bottom bar, and added a dedicated button to report incidents in the app's right-aligned bar, cutting down one extra step and making incident reporting easier for drivers.

The tech giant's latest update to Waze, however, puts Google Maps' simpler incident reporting to shame.

Related

Google streamlines incident reporting on Maps, adds red light camera warnings to Waze

Upgrades span Android and iOS

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Announced in a new blog post today, October 31, Waze is introducing a new Conversational Reporting feature, which, as the name suggests, allows drivers to report traffic, police presence, accidents, speed cameras, and more using their voice.

Prior to the change, Waze's incident reporting was akin to what Google Maps offers now, suggesting that Conversational Reporting might eventually make its way to Google Maps too.

Wait, is that a mattress on the road

You still have to tap the incident icon on the bottom right, but then, instead of tapping a specific incident (which will still be an option by the way) users will be able to speak their mind out about what they see on the road.

The feature is powered by Google Gemini's ability to understand context in spoken dialogue, which means, you can say something like "Woah, there's a mattress in the middle of the road," or "Looks like there are cars jammed up ahead!" Waze then deciphers what you meant and adds relevant incident reports on the map. In some cases, it might ask for extra context by asking you to describe what you see.

Conversational Reporting is landing in beta "to Waze trusted testers" globally in English on Android and iOS. The feature will make its way to "more users and languages in the coming months."

As part of the same update, the navigation app is also making it easier for drivers to know when they're approaching a school zone. Waze map editors can now add busy school zones to the map, so when you're driving near one, you'll automatically be prompted to be extra cautious. School Zones will begin rolling out on Android and iOS globally later this year.