It’s been a long time coming, but Gemini is on its way to your Google Home speakers and displays. Early access rolls out in October, and it will completely replace Google Assistant.
Google announced it would replace Google Assistant across its devices in March; new Pixel devices come with Gemini enabled as the default assistant.
We’ve become used to Gemini on our smartphones, but Google’s efforts have met with mixed results.
The latest swathe of features on the Pixel 10 failed to impress us, but I think Google has a chance to impress us with Gemini on Google Home devices.
I’m not optimistic, but here are the features Gemini needs to successfully activate to make this new era of Google Home a success.
5
Better understanding of my data stored in Google’s apps
No more weird Calendar limitations, please
While I have replaced some with third-party apps, my digital life still revolves around Google’s apps.
I use Gmail, Chrome, and YouTube daily, and I rely on Calendar to avoid clashing personal obligations with work.
I’ve fallen out of using Keep in favor of Bundled Notes and Bring!, but I plan to give it another go when Gemini launches on Google Home.
When I moved countries in 2022 and rebuilt my smart home setup from the ground up, I regularly ran into issues doing something as simple as setting up my shopping lists.
Google Assistant, while effective at simple tasks, is awkward to use and set up. Integrations must be set up manually, and even when I was sure I’d done it right, Google Assistant would continually mismanage my shopping lists.
I’ve never tried to use Gemini for my shopping lists (I can’t recommend Bring! enough for shopping), but as an experiment, I hopped into the Gemini tab and asked it to check what was on my shopping list.
Despite never having used Gemini in Keep, it was instantly able to access my shopping lists and merge the two I apparently had into one.
It wasn’t a perfect process as it duplicated the lists without me asking, but otherwise it was a painless experience that could not have been more different than setting up my shopping lists with Google Keep.
This seamless integration with my data in Google’s apps is what will form the foundation for Gemini’s success on Google Home.
Hopefully, Google can enable shared calendars in Gemini, because having my smart speaker list my personal and work appointments for the day with a quick voice query would be a massive help.
4
Stronger third-party integrations
I don’t want to return to apps I don’t like
One of the biggest limitations of AI chatbots like Gemini is inadequate third-party integration.
I recognize that this is a collaboration between Google and other apps, but I need Google to greatly expand the range of apps Gemini can access for me to use Gemini.
My use of Google Assistant has decreased in recent months as I’ve shifted away from some Google apps, and a lack of Gemini integration will mean I won’t be able to use it as much as I’d like.
For example, I use Bring to manage my shopping lists, Bundled Notes to handle miscellaneous lists and notes, and Tidal to play music.
At the time of writing this article, Gemini does not work with any of these apps. It cannot read my shopping list in Bring, summarize a note in Bundled Notes, or play music from Tidal.
If I switched to Google Keep and YouTube Music, I could use Gemini, but I’m not going to change apps just to enable Gemini integration.
If Google doesn’t make greater strides towards integrating Gemini with third-party apps, I’m not the only one who will struggle to use it on my Google Home speakers.
Third-party integration with Gemini is much more important on a smart speaker than on a smartphone.
3
Speed up response times on Gemini
It’s too slow for basic commands
One of my biggest gripes with Gemini is its relatively slow response times. Google Assistant is much faster at answering basic queries; it’s part of the reason why I’ve stuck with it for so long.
I’ve been experimenting with Google Live recently, and while I’m moderately impressed with its conversational abilities, its slow response times annoy me too much to use it regularly.
Slow response times aren’t a significant problem on my phone, but I need quick responses from a smart speaker.
If it takes longer for Gemini on my Google Nest speaker to check my calendar compared to picking up my phone and opening the app, I won’t use it.
It should take Gemini less than a second to check the time, but right now it’s not the case.
There’s a fair argument to be made that Gemini is slow because it’s built for complex queries, not basic instructions like checking the time.
Still, if Gemini is completely replacing Google Assistant on my Google Nest speaker, it must be at least as fast, if not faster, to avoid it feeling like a downgrade.
2
Reliable understanding of complex commands
Is my Nest speaker up to handling Gemini?
One thing I’m not particularly worried about when my Google Nest speaker switches to Gemini is its ability to understand complex commands. Gemini is great at figuring out what I want, regardless of my phrasing.
While it does slip up from time to time (when I asked it to merge two lists in Google Keep, it initially asked me if I wanted to delete them), it’s significantly better than Google Assistant.
However, bringing Gemini to Google Home opens the door to new problems.
Right now, I can tell Gemini to adjust the settings on my speakers through the app, and it works just as well as Google Assistant. However, I’m concerned about the processing capacity of my Nest speaker.
If I issue a complex command like “Lower the volume of my speakers, dim the lights except for in the kitchen, and raise the temperature by five degrees,” my Gemini app is capable of handling it.
However, moving the processing to my speaker could cause problems.
While I need response times for simple commands to be instantaneous, I’m willing to give Gemini some leeway for complex commands. Still, I’m worried that the response times will be too slow to be helpful.
The worst-case scenario is that I encounter problems with Gemini that I haven’t seen since I first tried it out with my smart speaker.
1
Full Gemini Live capabilities
Gemini Live and Google Nest are a match made in heaven
While Google has confirmed that Gemini Live will come to Google Home, I’m worried it might be limited.
Gemini Live is a great kitchen companion, but I’m concerned that the limited processing power of smart speakers and displays will mean it’s not as effective as it is on my phone.
In a single conversation with Gemini Live, you can ask it what you can make with ingredients in your fridge, then follow a generated recipe, going back and forth as Gemini Live describes it to you.
It’s a powerful tool that must not be limited on Google Home speakers.
Gemini on Google Home has potential, but it needs to be built for smart homes
Overall, my main concern about the switch to Gemini is that the AI assistant will be ported to our smart speakers with no adaptations.
We use our smart speakers differently from our smartphones, and Google needs to understand this to make Gemini successful on Google Home.
Perhaps the unannounced smart speaker leaked in August will come with more powerful Gemini capabilities.
