A new report suggests drivers are taking Google Maps’ advice for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their trips.

The website The Verge has analysed the company’s environmental report which says a feature in Google Maps that allows users to see the most fuel-efficient routes has helped prevent around 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions since the feature debuted in 2021.

Google says that’s almost like taking 250,000 gas-guzzling cars off the road for a year.

The feature uses a machine learning model to predict which route is the most fuel- or energy-efficient and recommends it to Maps users. If the most fuel-efficient route is also the fastest, Google Maps will default to that option.

A user can also tell the app what kind of engine the car has — whether it’s gas, diesel, hybrid, or electric — to get more accurate predictions.

(Picture – Google’s environmental report)