Never get lost in a mall again! 4 secret features hidden in your Grab app

Have you ever wasted 20 minutes pusing-pusing the mall looking for a cafe, only to realise you’ve been on the wrong floor this whole time? Meanwhile, all the Grab riders running food orders around you are so steady wan. It’s almost like they have secret indoor maps of every mall in Malaysia.

Well, guess what? They actually do. And plot twist: You have it too.

Last week, we joined Grab at their Grab X event in Jakarta, where they unveiled 13 new AI-driven initiatives designed to make life way easier. While some are still OTW, 4 of these features are already live in Malaysia! 

And the best part is, you don’t have to download any additional apps like what our gomen keep making us do. So here are some convenient features Grab just added to your phone!

1. GrabMaps, now with Indoor Maps!

While you might think the maps feature in your Grab app is only for Grab drivers and delivery riders, it’s actually available for everyone! It’s updated with traffic information from the people who are most on the road – Grab drivers – and can give you directions to specific parking and drop-off entrances. 

But the secret sos is Indoor Maps. This is how Grabfood riders always seem to know exactly where to go in a mall. It’s not because they’re all professional indoor navigators – it’s cause they complain about getting lost so much that Grab went ahead and made indoor maps that tells them exactly where to go! 

To use it, just tap ‘More’ on your Grab home screen and select ‘Map’. Here, you will get a multifunctional map that offers you:

• driving directions,
• public transit rotes and schedules,
• restaurants, shops, Blackpink, and deals in your area,
• and our favourite: Indoor maps

The “Indoor maps” doesn’t just work for malls, but other public buildings too. We’ve tried it at KLIA, the TBS bus terminal, as well as malls around Selangor. To use indoor maps, just type in where you are, and where you want to go. The map will give a specific floor-by-floor layout, and even tell you exactly where the escalators, lifts, and toilets are located!

The main thing to keep in mind is that indoor navigation is much more granular than outdoor driving. Since GPS signals can struggle inside concrete buildings, the app might not always “ping” your exact floor automatically. If this happens, you just need to toggle the floor level manually as you move up or down. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll never wander aimlessly in a mall again!

Pro-tip: The Indoor Maps feature is really new and is being rolled out in phases. If you don’t see the ‘Indoor maps’ option on your phone yet, you can trigger it via a smart pop-up that appears automatically the moment you arrive at a mall, airport, or other public buildings.

Beyond the Indoor Maps update, GrabMaps also includes a few handy dandy new features like:

• Real-time Updates: Leveraging Grab’s massive network of drivers, you get instant alerts for floods, accidents, or heavy congestion that might kacau your ETA.
• Calendar Sync: You can sync the map to your calendar app, and GrabMaps will automatically remind you exactly when to leave the house and arrive on time. This is incredibly useful to navigate Klang Valley’s unpredictable traffic!
• On-the-way Essentials: Easily find parking spots or EV chargers along your route without a headache.
• Custom Voices: You can actually record custom voice prompts for your navigation. If you miss your mother-in-law complaining that you never visit, just record her! Now she can nag you all the way back to the kampung.

2. Never compromise on your cravings again with Grab More

If your wife is craving a “clean” salad but you need heavy proteins for your GAINS, you’ll likely come to a fair compromise and order…the salads. Of course.

But what if the secret to a happy marriage is simply getting both meals delivered by the same rider, at the same time, for one delivery fee? Grab More lets you do exactly that, with no extra service charge.

To use this feature, just add your items from your first restaurant of choice. Before checking out, look for the red Grab More button at the bottom of your basket.

Once you click on it, Grab will show you a list of nearby restaurants that your abang rider can easily swing by. Just add your second order, and both will arrive together – saving you that extra delivery fee!

As a side note, you’re more than welcome to pass on some of those savings to the abang rider via the Tips feature. 100% of your tips go straight to the riders, making their extra stop even more worth it.

3. Have a personal shopper settle your groceries with Grab Shopping Agent

We all know buying groceries online is convenient, but Grab just found a way to make it even lazier, in the best way possible.

With the new Grab Shopping Agent, you can stop squinting at your screen trying to find the right brand of soy sauce. You don’t even need to manually add items to your cart anymore. Whether you have a scribbled mess of a shopping list or a recipe you found in a cookbook, this feature acts like your personal concierge.

Now, instead of searching for items one by one, you can choose to snap a picture of your shopping list, upload a photo of a recipe, type out a quick list, or simply blab out what you wanna buy. The Grab Shopping Agent then uses AI to scan your request and automatically populates your cart with everything you need.

Before any payment happens, you’ll get to review the suggested items. Just confirm that the brands and quantities are exactly what you wanted, and voila, your pantry restock is on its way!

Currently in Malaysia, you can access this feature by selecting a specific store on Grab Mart to fulfill your request. However, based on what we saw at the Grab X event in Jakarta, a major upgrade is on the horizon: soon, you’ll be able to simply input your list directly into Grab Mart, and the Shopping Agent will scan across multiple stores to find you the best options automatically. We’re still waiting for a confirmed local rollout date for this multi-store update. When that happens, grocery shopping is about to get a whole lot smoother!

4. Share a ride with friends, and split the fare any way you want

If you and your friends are heading to different spots along the same route, or coming from different places to meet at the same “lepak” spot, Group Ride might become your new favorite feature. It’s a really good way to save on fares without the headache of manual bank transfers later.

Under the Car tab, you’ll find the Group Ride option. It allows you to add up to three friends to your journey, provided you either share the same pickup point or the same drop-off point.

Simply input your locations and send an invite to your friends. They can then hop in and add their own specific stops. Once everyone is ready, you can book a car.

The best part is, no mathing is required from your end. If you’re feeling generous, you can belanja everyone to the ride. If you’re feeling more socialist, you can choose to split the fare equally. But if you believe in equity (or if one person lives really far away), Grab can split the fare proportionally by distance. It’s fair, automated, and prevents any awkward “Why is my portion so high?” conversations.

Just a heads-up though, if a friend’s payment method fails, the person who initiated the ride will be charged the balance.

Grab claims you can save up to 40% compared to riding solo. We put this to the test on a rainy day after work and managed to save RM9. That’s one Ramly burger double special with cheese!

The “Coming Soon” list: 9 more reasons to keep your Grab app updated

If these four features aren’t enough to make you feel like you’re living in the future, Grab has nine more updates currently in the oven. Some are for us as users, while others are to help our favorite merchants and abang drivers run things more smoothly.

For your everyday needs:

Grab AI Assistant: Think of this as your personal concierge. Instead of scrolling through a hundred restaurants, you can just tell the AI: “I need a place for 10 people, halal, under RM50 per head, must have air-con,” and it will settle the recommendation and the booking in one go.  Grab is expecting this to be launched by the end of 2026. 

Cash Loan: Need money for an emergency but don’t want to deal with bank queues and mountains of paperwork? Grab is introducing Cash Loan, where you can get a loan approved in seconds because your “credit line” is already established based on your Grab history. No physical documents are required. Just select a loan amount and a repayment plan that fits your own budget and affordability. This feature is expected to land in Malaysia in the middle of this year.

For your travels:

Personalised Travel Experience: This feature turns Grab into your travel companion from the moment you leave home, until the moment you land and find your way out of the airport. You can sync your calendar with Grab, and it will soon track your flight updates, give you a travel checklist (passports, eSIMs, travel passes), tell you your check-in counter, and once you land, the Indoor Maps will guide you straight to your baggage belt. This is set to launch in Malaysia around Q3 2026.

GrabStays: You’ll soon be able to book hotels directly in-app via Grab’s Partner App: Nuitee. It offers competitive same-day rates with the extra benefit of earning GrabCoin rewards. This is also perfect for last-minute bookings, and since your payment info is already there, it’s literally a one-tap checkout. This is gonna launch in Malaysia sometime later this year. This is also set to launch in Malaysia around Q3 2026.

Discover by Grab: Like a foodie version of TikTok/Instagram, you’ll see community-generated videos of hidden gems. Whether you’ve landed in a new city or are exploring your own neighbourhood, if you see a cafe you like, you can book a table or a ride there instantly.

GrabPay for Travel: No more “Does this shop take my card?” anxiety when you travel. You’ll be able to scan participating QR codes in other Southeast Asian countries and pay using the cards already saved in your Grab app. No top-ups, no leftover foreign currency in your wallet!

For merchants and drivers:

Virtual Store Manager: Shop owners can now use AI to turn their existing CCTVs into “smart managers.” It monitors everything from hygiene standards to how long the queues are, sending instant alerts if things need fixing. This could mean anything from monitoring whether your kitchen staff are adhering to hygiene standards, or finding out what time you have the highest footfalls to plan an in-store flash sale. It’s like having a manager on-site 24/7 without actually being there! This program is currently being piloted in Malaysia and Thailand.

Cloud Printer: No more “missed orders” because a waiter forgot to pass a slip to the kitchen. Orders now auto-print the second a customer hit ‘Order.’ Plus, if a shop is too busy or closed, the printer automatically pauses the store on the app so customers don’t accidentally order from a place that can’t serve them. Grab expects to launch this in Q2 2026.

Tap to Pay: Small businesses can now turn their smartphones into credit card terminals instantly – no bulky machines or complex setups needed. This makes it way easier for your favorite roadside stalls to start accepting card and QR payments in minutes. This will tentatively be available in Malaysia by 2027.

Driver AI Assistant: Our abang riders are getting a smart companion they can actually talk to. It helps them find the most efficient routes to earn more and handles tasks like messaging passengers so they can keep their eyes on the road and stay safe. This feature is already available, so if you see your abang Grab talking to an unseen figure, jangan seram, it’s probably just the AI Assistant.

And if you’re the type who pantang seeing a “New Update” notification, you should join the Grab Early Access Programme.

It’s already got 200,000 users who get to beta-test these features and give feedback before they go mainstream. In fact, users like us have already contributed to over 4,000 improvements! If you want to be a part of the cool kids group, keep an eye on your app settings to sign up and start testing the future of Grab.