Google unveiled an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered assistant for use on mobile devices.
The new Gemini Live became available in English to Gemini Advanced subscribers on Android phones on Tuesday (Aug. 13) and will be expanded to iOS devices and more languages in the coming weeks, the company said in a Tuesday blog post.
“Gemini Live is a mobile conversational experience that lets you have free-flowing conversations with Gemini,” Sissie Hsaio, vice president and general manager, Gemini experiences and Google Assistant, said in the post.
With this AI assistant, users can interrupt in mid-sentence to ask for additional details, pause a conversation and come back to it later, and keep talking with it in the background or when the phone is locked, Hsaio added.
Google will also make Gemini connect with more Google apps and tools, according to the post. The company will launch extensions for Keep, Tasks, Utilities, Calendar and expanded features on YouTube Music in the coming weeks.
Because Gemini is fully integrated into Android, users can access it at any time, no matter what else they’re doing on their phone, per the post. It can also read the screen and interact with apps like Gmail and Google Messages.
With the user’s permission, Gemini can access their relevant personal data and add it to its own knowledge in order to provide the help the user needs, Google said in another Tuesday blog post.
“For example, Gemini can help create a daily workout routine based on your personal trainer’s email, or use your resume in Google Drive to write a work bio,” Sameer Samat, president, Android Ecosystem, said in the post. “Only Gemini can do all of this with a secure, all-in-one approach that doesn’t require hand-off to a third-party AI provider you may not know or trust.”
It was reported Monday (Aug. 12) that generative AI features have created an opportunity for tech companies to boost consumer interest in smartphones and encourage them to update their devices more frequently.
In addition, with its latest Pixel smartphones, Google is making a more aggressive push into the consumer device market, Bloomberg reported.
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