Are Google navigation services getting worse?

I was recently driving around the M25 when Google surprised me with a route suggestion.

For those who are not familiar with the M25, it is a motorway that goes all the way around the outside of London. When it works it is brilliant and when it doesn’t it becomes a very annoying car park.

Even if I know a route well I still tend to put it into Google Maps just in case there is traffic and it provides an alternative. This was one of those occasions.

I was stuck in a big traffic jam and Google Maps showed an alternative route would save me 20 minutes. “Great” I thought and started to indicate to take the turning to leave the motorway. As I nudged out I spotted the sign that said “Works Units Only” - it was trying to divert me down a road that was for road engineering traffic that I was not allowed to use. Some cars did go down there - obviously ignoring the sign and following Google Maps.

Recently on another occasion it tried to route me down a road that was closed for roadworks - even though the map itself showed the road as closed. Last night it tried to take me on a very “scenic” route that didn’t make any sense - I know as I drove the normal route I would go and it was quicker and completely clear.

Yesterday my wife needed to pick me up from Luton airport. We agreed she would pick me up from the long stay car park as it is free for 2 hours. I typed it into Google and the AI search results described it all and included a postcode. My wife used that when she came to collect me and ended up at the mid stay car park instead - it had given the wrong car park postcode.

I’m not sure what has changed but I am now much more sceptical when I follow the routes it proposes - it used to be brilliant.