Gemini in Android Auto is having yet another issue and this time it’s a real emergency.
A user is reporting that they have used Gemini to call 911 in the past, but suddenly are not able to.
A critical failure at a critical time
In two posts, one on Reddit and one on the Android Auto community forum, what seems to be the same person details the sudden loss of being able to summon emergency services with Gemini.
“Three times at least in the past month I have needed to call 911 and my Gemini assistant integrated via Android [A]uto says calling or dialing 911.. and stops,” they write in the post on the Android Auto community forum.
They reported that the latest incident occurred when they tried to contact 911 using Gemini to report a head-on collision involving three teenagers and a tree. The poster said that their daughter had to stop administering care to one of the injured to dial 911 from a phone.
Though the user said that they have successfully managed to call 911 using Gemini in the past, there are questions about whether or not calling 911 is a task that Gemini can perform.
Policy does not match real-world experience
On the Gemini Apps Help page, under the section “What Gemini Apps can’t do,” it says, “Gemini does not support certain types of calls and actions over the phone. For example: Make emergency calls: Gemini cannot call emergency services, like 911.”
Yet the poster said that they had been able to do so in the past. And there are many posts on Reddit and elsewhere where people have had Gemini call 911 on its own when they did not want emergency assistance.
In one post, a person showed an image of a conversation with Gemini in which they were discussing transportation and urgent care options, when Gemini spontaneously called 911.
The confusion over a very critical and yet very basic feature is a bit baffling, particularly as drivers say they feel that Gemini in Android Auto can lead to more accidents due to distraction and because Google Assistant, Gemini’s predecessor, could call 911.
Android Police has reached out to Google for clarification about this issue and we’ll update the story if we hear back.
