Google Brings Personalized Gemini Responses To Android Auto
Gemini can now use information from connected Google apps to answer drivers’ questions, with support for cars with Google built-in planned for the coming months.
Google has begun rolling out Personal Intelligence for Gemini in Android Auto, allowing the in-car assistant to use information from connected Google apps when responding to drivers. The company plans to bring the feature to cars with Google built-in in the coming months, according to The Verge, TechCrunch and Engadget.
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What changes for drivers
Personal Intelligence lets Gemini draw on information from services including Gmail, Calendar, Maps and YouTube. The Verge also lists Photos and Search among the apps Gemini can use. Rather than requiring a driver to look up details or state a precise address, the assistant can connect information across apps to answer a request.
Google’s examples include asking Gemini for a flight’s gate or whether it is on time while driving to the airport. With access to a confirmation email in Gmail, Gemini could find the flight details and check its status. A driver could also ask to be taken to a doctor’s appointment without supplying the address. According to The Verge, Google says a driver could ask Gemini to find a car wash shown in a photo taken the previous week and navigate there.
Engadget reports that Google also expects the feature to improve recommendations. In a new city, for example, a driver could request dinner suggestions along a route, with Gemini taking preferences or restrictions such as vegetarianism into account.
Rollout and controls
The Android Auto rollout began October 20. Engadget says Google is rolling it out globally except in Switzerland, the European Economic Area, the UK and Nigeria. Support for vehicles with Google built-in is due in the coming months. As TechCrunch explains, Android Auto runs on a user’s phone and projects functions to the vehicle’s display, while Google built-in is integrated into the vehicle itself.
Drivers must opt in before Gemini can use Personal Intelligence. TechCrunch says users can choose which apps to connect and can turn the feature off at any time. The Verge reports an additional condition for personalized responses in the car: the user’s phone must be connected. Without Personal Intelligence, Google says, drivers can still use functions such as navigation, music, calls and general questions, but responses will not be tailored to them.
How the update fits in
Gemini was already available in Android Auto before this update. TechCrunch says it launched there last November, while The Verge says it subsequently reached cars with Google built-in in April. The new rollout adds access to a driver’s connected information, rather than introducing Gemini to cars for the first time.
Sources
This story was compiled by AI from the reports below. Read the originals for the full details.