Editor’s note: Today's blog features Cade Netscher, Founder and CEO, Neurun. Cade shares how Neurun created the NYNJ World Cup Concierge, a single, centralized digital guide for the New York and New Jersey region, to help fans navigate and experience the 2026 World Cup.
Navigating an unfamiliar city with a familiar map interface
The 2026 World Cup brought vibrant energy, packed stadiums, and unforgettable celebrations to the New York and New Jersey region. Behind the joyous crowds and thrilling matches, however, lay a complex logistical puzzle. With over a million football fans from more than 200 countries arriving for 39 days, the event extended far beyond the stadium turnstiles. Fans needed to navigate a busy, unfamiliar area, uncover free events, find local business discounts, and figure out how to get around without relying on a car.
The NYNJ World Cup Host Committee had spent years organizing an inclusive, affordable city-wide program, but this information was scattered across websites, PDFs, and social media. To prevent fans from getting lost or missing out, the Host Committee turned to Neurun to create a single, centralized digital guide.
At Neurun, we build spatially aware digital platforms for major gatherings. Having successfully guided athletes and spectators through multiple events such as the Boston Marathon, Paris Marathon, and IRONMAN Vietnam, we know firsthand that giving attendees a reliable, official source of truth transforms their event experience. We make complex events feel effortless by building what we call a digital brain for each event.
In early May, 2026 we participated in an Innovation Workshop Session with the Google Cloud Founder Advocacy Team led by Uday Ghatikar, Global Founder Advocate with Google Cloud Startups. It was to brainstorm the art of the possible: how we could build something aspirational that would be a strategic game changer for us and their customers.
The NYNJ World Cup Concierge uses 3D Maps to instantly fly users to a specific location on the immersive map.
Coming out of this session, we moved our development model toward reusable, modular concierge components rather than one-off builds for every client. That shared foundation is what makes client customization possible at scale. Instead of rebuilding from scratch, our clients get tailored features and capabilities layered on top of a proven core, so we can say yes to more requests without sacrificing speed or reliability.
To make this work for the NYNJ World Cup Host Committee’s international audience, we needed mapping technology that fans already trusted and understood instinctively. Google Maps Platform provides true global coverage and a familiar interface, meaning there is no learning curve for a fan arriving from overseas. We also needed an advanced conversational AI model capable of handling multilingual interactions. By integrating Gemini from Google Cloud, we could allow fans to ask questions naturally in their native languages.
Working closely with the Google Cloud Startups team and Searce, a Google Cloud partner with deep location intelligence expertise, we collaborated with every department of the Host Committee to build the NYNJ World Cup Concierge in just seven months. By developing custom API wrappers around Google Maps Platform APIs, Searce enabled our engineering team to rapidly experiment and layer AI features directly on top of dynamic mapping infrastructure without losing build velocity or reliability.
The NYNJ World Cup Concierge offers fans a map that actively responds to what they ask including providing directions to activities.
Creating a spatially aware fan experience with 3D Maps and Gemini
The NYNJ World Cup Concierge offers fans a map that actively responds to what they ask. If a fan types or speaks a question about a fan zone, Gemini decodes their intent and the 3D Maps API instantly flies them to that specific location on the immersive map. This encourages users to explore the area further, tap on nearby points of interest, and ask follow-up questions about what else is around them.
To ensure the system never guesses or provides bad directions, we trained this digital brain strictly on verified, official data from the city. Information gaps are where great events lose people. A fan arriving from Rio, Dakar, or London should be able to ask one question and get a trusted answer about what's nearby, what others say about it via user reviews, and how to get there. By using Grounding in Google Maps and the Places API, we grounded every recommendation in live, accurate information rather than a static database that decays over a month-long tournament.
Keeping the city moving was a top priority for the organizers. Because driving directly to the stadium was not recommended for fans, getting them to the correct public transit hubs was essential to keep city traffic flowing safely. We feed location context into every query so the AI understands exactly where the fan is standing and provides hyper-relevant answers, meaning fans instantly know the location of the nearest shuttle or station.
Integrating Gemini's advanced language capabilities also breaks down language barriers. A literal translation of a schedule often misses the actual meaning, leaving a fan confused. Gemini understands the nuance and intent behind the phrasing, whether the fan is asking in Arabic or Japanese, ensuring they get the right information in over 60 languages.
The World Cup brings nearly a million visitors into a region most of them don't know. The NYNJ World Cup Concierge gives them one place to ask how to get somewhere and get an answer that reflects what's actually happening on the ground that day.Co-Host City Officer of the FIFA 2026 NYNJ World Cup Host Committee
Driving local economic impact with street-level discovery
The Concierge served as the primary digital guide for the tournament, embedded online and activated physically at a kiosk in Grand Central Terminal. We engaged over 100,000 unique users, and the data showed us exactly what fans valued most. Over 30% of questions were about discovering free fan events, while transit questions made up 23%, validating our focus on clear routing and accessibility.
Fans can use the chat prompt to find restaurants, coffee shops, and other amenities nearby.
Importantly, by actively steering fans to neighborhood programming and events they otherwise would not have found, the Concierge helped deliver the economic promise of the tournament.
The World Cup reminded us what happens when the whole city opens its doors to the world. The Concierge carries that spirit forward, helping every visitor find their way to the neighborhoods and programs that make New York City unlike anywhere else in the world. Every time someone discovers a corner of the city they didn't know existed, that welcome lives all across the five boroughs.Chief Marketing Officer of New York City Tourism + Conventions
The NYNJ World Cup proved that a verified AI guide works at a major scale, and NYC Tourism + Conventions is now keeping this infrastructure active year-round for city programming, such as Restaurant Week, Broadway Week, and other major events.
At Neurun, meanwhile, we’re taking this model to city governments and mega-events globally. We’re also collaborating with Waze for Cities to get event road closures updated directly in Waze and Google Maps, so drivers see accurate closures in real time. With Google Maps Platform, Gemini, and Searce’s ongoing strategic support, we have built a highly capable event infrastructure that ensures no fan ever feels lost in the crowd again.
