This page lists release notes for
[Maps Experience agent tools](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/maps-experience-agent-tools.md.txt) (formerly
Maps Grounding Lite).

## November 11, 2026

### General availability and REST

- Pro options are generally available to all Google Cloud projects. The Pro options for `search_places` and `compute_routes` no longer require a project on an allowlist. For details, see [Essentials and Pro](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/maps-experience-agent-tools.md.txt#essentials-and-pro).
- Added a REST method for every tool, such as `POST https://mapstools.googleapis.com/v1:searchText` for `search_places`. For details, see [Call the tools with REST](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/maps-experience-agent-tools.md.txt#rest).

### Search along route (`search_along_route`)

- Added the [`search_along_route`](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/maps-experience-agent-tools/search-along-route.md.txt) tool to find places along a travel route from a natural language query.
  - Specify a route using a `retrieval_token` from a prior `compute_routes` call, `route_endpoints` (`origin` and `destination`), or an `encoded_polyline`.
  - Returns an AI-generated `summary`, a ranked `results[]` list pairing each `place` with its `detourSummary` (`localizedDetourDistance` and `detourDuration`), and a `contentToken` for displaying the places with [Places UI Kit](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/agentic-data-visualization-token.md.txt) at no additional cost.
  - Supports `DRIVE`, `WALK`, and `BICYCLE` travel modes, traffic-aware routing (`ROUTING_PREFERENCE_TRAFFIC_AWARE_OPTIMAL`), and extended place details (`include_extended_details`).
- Updated [`compute_routes`](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/maps-experience-agent-tools/compute-routes.md.txt) to return a `retrievalToken` (valid for 10 minutes) on `DRIVE` routes so that agents can chain `compute_routes` and `search_along_route`.
- Every `search_along_route` request is billed under the [Maps Grounding Pro SKU](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/sku-details/places.md.txt#grounding-pro-sku).

### Environmental capabilities in `lookup_weather`

- Expanded [`lookup_weather`](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/maps-experience-agent-tools/lookup-weather.md.txt) to support multi-domain environmental queries across weather, air quality, and pollen through the `capabilities` parameter (`WEATHER`, `AIR_QUALITY`, and `POLLEN`):
  - **Weather (`WEATHER`)** : Adds up to 24 hours of hourly weather history (when both `date` and `hour` are set) alongside current conditions and up to 10-day hourly and daily forecasts, plus `weather_options.units_system` and `language_code`. Billed under the [Maps Grounding Essentials SKU](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/sku-details/places.md.txt#grounding-lite-ess-sku).
  - **Air quality (`AIR_QUALITY`)** : Returns hourly Air Quality Index (AQI) values (Universal AQI and local AQI using `air_quality_options.index_region_code`), optional pollutant concentrations (`air_quality_options.include_pollutant_concentration`), and health recommendations. Current conditions and hourly forecasts up to 4 days (96 hours) are billed under the [Maps Grounding Essentials SKU](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/sku-details/places.md.txt#grounding-lite-ess-sku). Historical air quality up to 30 days (720 hours) in the past is a Pro option billed under the [Maps Grounding Pro SKU](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/sku-details/places.md.txt#grounding-pro-sku).
  - **Pollen (`POLLEN`)** : Returns daily pollen forecasts for up to 5 days, starting today, including `Tree`, `Grass`, and `Weed` category indexes, health recommendations, and allergenic plant species details. Billed under the [Maps Grounding Pro SKU](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/sku-details/places.md.txt#grounding-pro-sku).

### Pricing

- Published SKU details and volume pricing for the [Maps Grounding Pro SKU](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/sku-details/places.md.txt#grounding-pro-sku) (`9A04-4753-07E4` Global; `AE33-0324-9314` India).
- Updated the volume pricing tiers for the [Maps Grounding Essentials SKU](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/sku-details/places.md.txt#grounding-lite-ess-sku). For prices, see the [Main pricing table](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/pricing.md.txt#places-pricing) and the [India pricing table](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/pricing-india.md.txt#places-pricing).

## October 28, 2026

- Renamed **Maps Grounding Lite** to **Maps Experience agent tools** , and renamed the **Maps Grounding Lite** SKU to [**Maps Grounding Essentials**](https://developers.google.com/maps/billing-and-pricing/sku-details/places.md.txt#grounding-lite-ess-sku).
- Introduced **Pro options** (Restricted GA) for [`search_places`](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/maps-experience-agent-tools/search-places.md.txt) (`include_extended_details` and `page_size` from 6 to 10) and [`compute_routes`](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/maps-experience-agent-tools/compute-routes.md.txt) (`ROUTING_PREFERENCE_TRAFFIC_AWARE_OPTIMAL` and 11 to 25 `intermediate_waypoints`), plus `BICYCLE` and `TRANSIT` travel modes, `departure_time` and `arrival_time`, `compute_alternative_routes`, `include_polyline`, and `location_bias`.
- Launched the [agentic data visualization token](https://developers.google.com/maps/ai/agentic-data-visualization-token.md.txt) (Preview), returned in `contentToken` to display grounded places with Places UI Kit in the Maps JavaScript API at no additional cost.