The AI Transformation: From APIs to Conversations - The Next Geo 2026 Workshop
AI is changing how humans and systems interact with maps. This session looks at conversational interfaces, location-aware copilots, and what an LLM-first world means for tools like geocoding, routing, and search. In the first portion of the workshop, learn about how AI is shaping the future of Maps, Search, and Navigation offerings at Mapbox. The second portion of the workshop provides practical hands-on training about how to build with Mapbox Location AI tools (https://www.mapbox.com/location-ai). In the third section, hear from OpenCage about running a geospatial business in an AI-dominated search landscape. And in the fourth section, the speakers answer live Q&A. About the speakers: • Chris Tufts is a Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Mapbox, where he works on the Location AI team building tools that enable geospatial intelligence in AI applications. His work includes the Mapbox MCP Server and Location Agent, products that give AI systems the ability to understand and act on location context, from geocoding and routing to spatial reasoning over real-world data. Chris is focused on making location a core capability for AI. • Matthew Podwysocki is a Staff Software Engineer on the Location AI team at Mapbox, where he builds MCP servers, Mapbox Skills, and reusable building blocks for agentic applications. His work focuses on giving developers powerful, composable tools to bring Mapbox's location capabilities into modern AI workflows. A regular conference speaker and contributor across podcasts, YouTube, and Twitch, Matthew is passionate about pushing the boundaries of what developers can build at the intersection of location intelligence and AI. • Ed Freyfogle is co-founder of geocoding service OpenCage and organizer of Geomob. Prior to OpenCage, Ed was co-founder of Lokku and started his career in the early days of the internet as the first developer at yahoo.de. He has an MBA from MIT, a degree in engineering from Duke University, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Weimar, Germany. About the host organizations: Mapbox is the location platform for innovators. Headquartered in San Francisco, Mapbox provides developers and businesses with cloud-based APIs, SDKs, and data services for maps, navigation, and place and address search. Founded in 2010, Mapbox leads development of the modern geospatial stack. Trusted by automakers, logistics providers, retailers, and app developers, Mapbox delivers scalable, highly customizable geospatial solutions that power billions of sophisticated location experiences worldwide. The platform is known for its built-in flexibility, elegant design, enterprise-grade security, strict data privacy, and developer-first documentation. The mission of Mapbox is to enable every team to build exceptional, location-aware applications that delight users, enhance operations, and transform industries. Learn more at mapbox.com. OpenCage provides easy, affordable, worldwide geocoding and geosearch using open data: https://opencagedata.com/ Geoawesome is the world’s largest geospatial community united by its belief in the power of location technology to transform the world for the better. Since its founding in 2011, Geoawesome (previously Geoawesomeness) has striven to be an open and inclusive platform for geospatial experts and enthusiasts to share their passion, knowledge, and expertise for all things geo. Today over 300+ professionals have shared their expertise via the platform at https://geoawesomeness.com/