Gemini arrives on Android Auto to replace the old Google Assistant

As has been happening with mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, or as will soon happen with smart home speakers, Google is set to say goodbye for good to Google Assistant in our vehicles through Android Auto. Its natural successor is Gemini, the Artificial Intelligence from the Mountain View company with far more advanced capabilities.

Android Auto is currently used in more than 250 million vehicles worldwide, so the integration of Gemini represents a highly significant step forward for Google, bringing the company’s Artificial Intelligence to a larger number of users.

Enjoying Gemini on Android Auto is going to be very simple. If you already have this assistant enabled on your Android smartphone, when you connect the phone to the vehicle Gemini will become the default assistant, replacing Google Assistant. Google has confirmed that the update will arrive globally, supporting 45 languages, so in this case it will theoretically not reach the North American market first, as usually happens with these things, forcing the rest of us to wait a few weeks or months to enjoy this new feature too.

Gemini, your new co-pilot

With Gemini up and running in our vehicles, a new world of possibilities opens up at the wheel. The limitations of Google Assistant will now be a thing of the past, raising the user experience to a new level with totally natural interactions between the driver and the assistant.

In the promotional video you can find just below, Google shows us a real example of Gemini in use. Receiving complex orders, the assistant is able to search for addresses that appear in email data and send them directly to the maps app, find pizzerias that offer a specific sauce, or choose a gift that can be bought at some point along the route and does not exceed a certain price. It is also able to locate charging stations for electric vehicles from a specific operator and avoid those that are most congested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbM122Qe-lk

In addition, Gemini summarises group chats and drafts automatic replies, translates messages in real time, and checks information in calendars and notes, both in Google’s own apps and in those integrated into Samsung mobile devices. Google also says it will soon add compatibility with more third-party apps.

Gemini at the heart of every Google product

But the best part is that even those who don’t use Android Auto will benefit from Gemini’s capabilities. Google has already integrated Gemini-powered features into its maps app, thus offering many more possibilities.

Finally, it should be noted that vehicles with Android Automotive OS, the complete operating system for vehicles integrated by some brands such as Volvo, Polestar, Renault or General Motors, to name just a few, will also receive Gemini natively soon. The first brands to incorporate it will be Volvo and Polestar, but it will soon reach the rest as well.