what3words unveils voice-driven AI to streamline location tasks

The AI tool can instantly recognise, understand and organise what3words addresses seamlessly from natural language inputs via voice and text commands, simplifying and accelerating location-based tasks. Businesses can access what3words AI via the new Pro tier in the app or online map, or embed it directly into their existing AI tools and agents via an API. This empowers teams to easily input, query and organise accurate location data in different formats and volumes, enabling efficient planning and better customer outcomes. The system leverages OpenAI’s frontier AI technology to create this powerful, robust and accurate solution.

The AI revolution has highlighted an increased expectation for these tools to handle real-world tasks across industries – from e-commerce journeys to field operations. However, an underlying limitation still persists: street addresses weren’t designed for the 21st century. AI tools can struggle with the ambiguities of traditional addresses, which can be long, cover large areas, are often duplicated and sometimes don’t even exist for newbuilds or remote locations. These inconsistencies, combined with frequent database updates and varied global formats, further complicate AI processing. Even the smartest AI is only as accurate as the data it can access, which is why what3words’ new offering is a solution to making voice-first AI functional and reliable for a variety of use-cases.

what3words is revolutionising the way the world communicates precise locations. The system has divided the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares, and assigned each square a unique combination of three words: a what3words address. This means every stadium gate, parking space, warehouse entrance, and point on the motorway has its own what3words address. For example, ///filled.count.soap pinpoints the exact entrance to what3words’ London HQ, which can be difficult to find with its traditional address. The technology is available in over 60 languages to date, and is free to download as an app for iOS , Android , or use via the online map at what3words.com

The road to building a functional, voice-first AI

AI and voice technology are fast becoming the preferred interface between humans and machines, and the consistent format of what3words addresses (///word.word.word) is inherently well-suited for AI processing. Years of public usage and millions of online references meant that, when development began, LLMs were already primed to recognise what3words addresses with ease. The challenge in building a functional AI chat lay in configuring LLMs to accurately identify and geocode what3words addresses from natural language inputs. what3words’ solution leverages OpenAI’s frontier AI technology, including gpt-4o-audio and gpt-4.1 to deliver an intuitive, voice-first AI chat that can optimise and simplify operations using accurate location information.

Matt Weaver, Head of Solutions Engineering for EMEA at OpenAI , said: “what3words’ new voice enabled AI chat is a great example of how businesses can apply frontier AI to solve real-world challenges; in this case, making finding locations faster, easier, and more intuitive. By harnessing OpenAI’s latest multimodal models – spanning voice, text and vision – what3words’ new Pro features are a powerful demonstration of how advanced AI can be embedded across a product to deliver genuine value for the people and businesses who rely on it every day.”

Features of what3words AI

Building on its core offering, what3words AI can now be experienced in the new Pro tier of its app and online map to make light work of complex location tasks. The new chat capability brings advanced AI features directly to the user’s fingertips from £3.49 per month, with enterprise packages available. Benefits include:

• what3words Voice AI : The voice AI feature can identify what3words addresses in natural, conversational speech, allowing users to enter queries in their own words
• Import files : Instantly pull multiple what3words addresses from PDF, CSV and image files – streamlining and speeding up working with large numbers of precise locations
• Live Scan: Use the device’s camera to scan multiple addresses at once – and then save or map them with just one tap. This feature is particularly useful for extracting locations from printed documents, signs or job lists
• Organise addresses : Business users typically handle large lists of what3words addresses, and the AI chat makes it easy to organise and use saved locations for key sites assets, delivery locations and much more
• Plan routes : The AI chat can connect to a navigation provider like Apple Maps or Google Maps to make an optimised route to – and between – multiple what3words locations. Handy for organising delivery routes or navigating to specific locations

Beyond the app, what3words AI is also available for custom API integration. Across various sectors, businesses can now seamlessly incorporate what3words’ precise location functionality into external AI agents and business tools, including through voice. The AI solution empowers these systems with unparalleled location accuracy, translating into clear, tangible benefits. For field operations, it allows lone workers and service teams to rapidly import and sort multiple precise locations in just a few prompts, facilitating efficient planning and execution of works.

Alongside an integration with Swiftcomplete address validation , what3words AI can help e-commerce businesses collate and verify the most accurate possible address information in their AI-powered customer service interactions, preventing misrouted orders and lost deliveries. It also simplifies route planning and navigation, providing precise pick-up and drop-off points for smoother journeys, and ensuring exact destinations for services ranging from ride-hailing apps and fleet management to emergency services.

Chris Sheldrick, Co-founder and CEO of what3words said: “We’re seeing businesses across industries – from logistics and e-commerce, to utilities and construction – turning to AI to drive smarter, faster operations. But without accurate location data, these tools can fall short. what3words’ unique addressing system fills that gap with a format that’s easy for both people and machines to understand. And with what3words AI, we’re giving teams a simple and efficient way to manage complex location tasks, whether they’re planning routes, finding assets, or resolving customer issues.”

To learn more about harnessing the power of what3words AI, visit http://what3words.com/products/pro