AllTrails Uses AI for Smart Hiking Routes

AllTrails, the popular hiking and biking companion app named Apple's 2023 iPhone App of the Year, is stepping up its game by introducing a new premium membership tier called Peak. Priced at $80 per year, this new subscription leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI) to offer enhanced features for outdoor enthusiasts.

Peak Membership: AI-Powered Exploration

The Peak tier, rolling out selectively in the coming weeks and globally by June 2025, aims to provide a richer, more personalized outdoor experience. Users interested in early access can sign up on the AllTrails website.

AI Smart Routes

A standout feature of Peak is its AI-powered custom route builder. Users can create their ideal trail from scratch or modify existing ones. The AI considers preferences like desired length, steepness, or even scenic value to generate personalized routes.

Image Credits: AllTrails

Real-Time Conditions & Heatmaps

Peak members gain access to real-time trail condition forecasts, including temperature, precipitation, snow depth, air quality, and even mosquito activity alerts. Future updates promise terrain condition details like mud or gravel. Additionally, trail traffic heatmaps, powered by aggregated user activity data similar to Google Maps' busy times feature, help hikers find solitude or safety in numbers.

Image Credits: AllTrails

Image Credits: AllTrails

Outdoor Lens

Launching this summer for Peak members, the Outdoor Lens feature uses your phone's camera to identify plants, trees, and flowers instantly, allowing users to log their discoveries within the app. AllTrails plans to expand the Lens's identification capabilities over time.

Image Credits: AllTrails

Competitive Landscape and Strategy

AllTrails, which secured $150 million in funding in 2021 amidst a pandemic-driven surge in outdoor activities, faces increasing competition. Apple Maps has incorporated features like topographic maps, offline access, and custom routing, encroaching on AllTrails' territory. The introduction of the AI-driven Peak membership appears to be a strategic move by AllTrails to differentiate itself and cater to its most dedicated users by offering advanced, data-driven features.

Updates for Base and Plus Tiers

AllTrails isn't neglecting its other users. Both the free Base tier and the existing Plus tier will gain Points of Interest, mapping over 500,000 landmarks and amenities. Plus subscribers will also receive an Offline Area feature, allowing downloads of customized map regions for offline use.

AI Enhancing the Outdoor Experience

AllTrails' new Peak membership showcases how AI can be integrated into consumer applications to provide tangible value and personalized experiences. By offering smart routing, condition forecasts, and identification tools, AllTrails aims to deepen user engagement and solidify its position in the competitive outdoor app market. This move highlights a trend applicable across industries: leveraging AI not just for backend processes, but to directly enhance customer-facing features and services.

References

• TechCrunch: AllTrails debuts an $80/year membership that includes AI-powered smart routes
• TechCrunch: AllTrails raises $150M after COVID accelerates people’s interest in exploring the outdoors
• TechCrunch: Apple and Google avoid naming ChatGPT as their App of the Year, picking AllTrails and Imprint instead