What’s happened? Google has announced Gemini for Home, a way to integrate all the power of Gemini AI with your smart home setup. The company says the move makes it “both more powerful and easier to use than Google Assistant.”
- Trigger words remain the same; you’ll still say, “Hey Google” to get started.
- Users will be able to make more natural, fluid requests instead of sticking with rigid phrase structures.
- The Gemini Live functionality will let you have a back-and-forth talk with Gemini right from your Google smart home devices.
Why this is important: Amazon recently launched Alexa+, a service that brings similar functionality to the Alexa platform. Gemini for Home could match and potentially exceed Alexa+ in terms fo capabilities.
- Gemini for Home lets users issue multiple commands at once instead of one at a time.
- It also simplifies day-to-day tasks, with one example being “add the ingredients to make an authentic Italian lasagna to my shopping list.”
- Gemini For Home makes media discovery easier and allows users to request vague content, such as saying “play the song of the year winner from 1990.”
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Why should I care? The addition of true AI capabilities to the smart home assistant can take a home from just smart to bloody brilliant. Gemini for Home (and also Alexa+) represents another step toward the kind of intuitive smart home experience companies have strived for since the beginning.
- Gemini can make even complex tasks, like telling a bedtime story, significantly easier.
- You can ask for help troubleshooting common household problems.
- Gemini for Home means your smart assistant can be an actual assistant, rather than a go-between for issuing commands to smart devices.
