AI Route Optimization vs Traditional GPS Routing: What's the Difference?
GPS navigation finds the best road path from one point to the next, in the order you give it. Route optimization decides that order: it calculates the sequence of many stops that minimises total driving time. Delivery drivers normally need both: a route optimizer to order the day's stops, and a navigation app to drive each leg.
The confusion is understandable, because both draw a line on a map. But they solve different problems, and using a navigation app as a route planner is one of the most common reasons delivery days run long.
Two different questions
| GPS navigation | Route optimization | |
|---|---|---|
| Question answered | How do I drive from here to there? | In what order should I visit all these stops? |
| Input | A start, a destination, sometimes a few waypoints in a set order | A list of stops, a start and end, and rules |
| Output | Turn-by-turn directions for one path | An ordered stop list (and, for fleets, which vehicle gets which stops) |
| Core algorithm family | Shortest-path search (Dijkstra's algorithm and its faster successors) | Travelling salesman and vehicle routing solvers |
| Typical tools | Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, in-car GPS units | Route optimization software and delivery route planners |
| Changes the stop order? | No (you can drag stops by hand) | Yes, that is its job |
What "traditional GPS routing" actually does
A navigation app models the road network as a graph of intersections and road segments, each with a travel time. To get you from A to B, it searches for the path with the lowest total time. This is the classic shortest-path problem, first solved efficiently by Edsger Dijkstra in 1959; modern apps use faster variants and add live or predicted traffic.
When you add stops, the app finds the best path for each leg in the order you entered them. Google Maps, for example, lets you add multiple destinations ("up to 9 stops, which includes the final destination", according to Google Maps Help) and lets you change the order by dragging. It does not choose the order for you.
What route optimization adds
Route optimization works one level up. It first needs the travel time between every pair of stops, then searches the enormous number of possible orders for the one with the lowest total. For 10 stops between a fixed start and end there are over 3.6 million possible orders; for 20 there are about 2.4 × 10^18. Read how route optimization works for the details.
The difference shows up quickly on a real route. We measured on a real route of 24 stops: ordering stops by straight-line closeness, which is roughly what a person does when building a route in a navigation app by eye, took about 20 minutes longer than the optimized order.
Side by side: a 40-stop delivery day
| Task | Navigation app only | Route optimizer + navigation app |
|---|---|---|
| Enter stops | Up to the app's stop limit, then start a new trip | All 40 in one list |
| Decide order | By eye, dragging stops | Calculated on estimated driving time |
| Driving each leg | Turn-by-turn | Turn-by-turn (hand-off to the same app) |
| A stop is added mid-day | Re-plan by hand | Re-optimize the remaining stops |
| Record delivered / failed | Not built in | Built into delivery route planners |
| Proof of delivery | Not built in | Often built in |
When a navigation app is enough
- You have a few stops and you already know the best order.
- The order is fixed by the job (a scheduled pickup, then a delivery).
- You are driving to one place.
When you need route optimization
- You have more stops than you can order confidently by eye, usually from about 10 upwards.
- You plan routes every day and small detours add up.
- You need to record outcomes and proof for each stop.
- You manage several drivers and need to split stops between them.
See planning a route with many stops for a step-by-step method.
How they work together
Good delivery route planners do not replace your navigation app; they feed it. The usual workflow:
- Enter all the stops in the route planner.
- Optimize the order.
- Tap the next stop to open it in your navigation app.
- Drive the leg with turn-by-turn directions.
- Mark the stop delivered or failed, then tap the next one.
Navigation apps handle traffic on each leg as you drive. Whether the optimizer also uses traffic when choosing the order varies by tool; see traffic in route optimization.
What about GPS tracking?
A third category, GPS fleet tracking (telematics), records where vehicles are and how they are driven. It neither orders stops nor gives directions. We compare it in GPS fleet tracking.
How MiliRoute fits
MiliRoute is an AI route optimization app for couriers, delivery drivers and small delivery fleets. It does the ordering step and leaves turn-by-turn navigation to the app drivers already use:
- Optimizes the order of all your stops on estimated driving times from Google's road-routing data, with your chosen start, end and avoid-tolls setting.
- Opens each stop in your maps app with one tap (Navigate).
- Records delivered and failed stops, with optional proof of delivery.
- Free for routes of up to 10 stops; Premium A$15/month for unlimited stops.
Conclusion
Navigation answers "how do I get to the next stop?"; route optimization answers "which stop should be next?". For a delivery route of more than a few stops, use an optimizer for the order and your navigation app for the driving. For the full picture, read our complete guide to route optimization software.
Keep your maps app, improve the order: try MiliRoute free on your next route.
Frequently asked questions
Can Google Maps optimize the order of my stops?
Google Maps lets you add up to 9 stops including the destination and reorder them by dragging, according to Google Maps Help. It does not calculate the best order for you.
What is the difference between a route planner and a GPS?
A GPS or navigation app gives directions between points in the order you choose. A route planner with optimization chooses the order of many stops to minimise total driving time.
Do I still need a navigation app if I use route optimization software?
Usually yes. Most delivery route planners hand each stop to a navigation app such as Google Maps or Waze for turn-by-turn directions.
Is Waze good for delivery routes?
Waze is a navigation app, so it is good for driving each leg. For ordering many delivery stops, use a route optimizer and open each leg in Waze or another navigation app.
What algorithm does GPS navigation use?
Navigation apps solve the shortest-path problem, classically with Dijkstra's algorithm and modern faster variants, using road travel times that may include traffic.
Why is my route longer when I order stops myself?
People tend to order stops by how close they look on the map, but straight-line closeness is not driving time. Road layout, one-way streets and barriers change which order is fastest.