Gemini Adds Song Identification Feature, Catching Up to Google Assistant

Gemini Can Finally Do One of Google Assistant's Oldest Tricks

Google Is Getting Ready to Replace Assistant With Gemini on Smartwatches Summary Gemini is replacing Google Assistant on Android phones in 2025. Gemini lacked song identification features, causing frustration for users. Recent updates on Gemini now automatically launch the Google app's Song Search for song identification. One of the reasons why I haven't been super excited about Gemini is how many things it lacks compared to the ancient Google Assistant. For a very long time, Assistant has been able to identify songs when you ask it to, which can be a real lifesaver. But with Gemini stepping into the spotlight, that seamless experience vanished, leaving a frustrating void. For a while, asking Gemini "what song is this?" was met with a very unhelpful suggestion, just to go use a music recognition app. It was a big step backward from the Assistant experience we'd gotten used to, forcing people to go elsewhere for something that used to be so easy. Thankfully, with Gemini set to fully take over for Assistant later this year, that's finally being fixed. Related RIP: Google Assistant Will Be Fully Replaced by Gemini Later This Year Google Assistant's days are numbered. Later in 2025, Google officially plans to replace Assistant with Gemini on Android phones. This comes after the company has spent the last year releasing feature updates aimed at bringing Gemini up to par with the much older Google Assistant. Posts 3 In recent weeks, an update to Gemini on Android has brought back that much-needed functionality. Now, when you ask Gemini to identify a song, it automatically launches the Google app's Song Search feature. You'll see the familiar, pulsing sphere on your screen while it listens to the music. Unlike Assistant, the results still pop open within the Google app itself, but it's still a huge improvement over Gemini essentially shrugging its shoulders and telling you to kick rocks. Close Back in March, when Google announced its plans to depreciate Google Assistant in favor of Gemini, it mentioned it had more work to do. The company said it was focusing on improving the "quality of the day-to-day Gemini experience" for people who rely on Google Assistant. Song identification is clearly one of those features, and we're glad to see it finally arrive. I'm still not convinced Gemini is better than Assistant for this type of thing that didn't used to require AI, but it's clearly one of those features you don't appreciate until it's gone. Being able to simply speak a command and have my phone listen for music is nice to have. This change is currently live on Android. However, on the iPhone, "what song is this" still doesn't trigger Song Search. Source: 9to5Google Related Google Is Getting Ready to Replace Assistant With Gemini on Smartwatches Get ready to say goodbye to the familiar Google Assistant on your wrist. Google's continued push to replace Assistant with Gemini appears to be hitting Wear OS smartwatches. The changes are small-for now. Posts 1

Gemini on Android can now identify songs -- but there's a catch

Just days after launching 'Search Live,' Google continues to evolve Gemini into a solid AI Assistant on Android, with the latest update bringing a long-missing fan favorite: song identification. You can now ask Gemini, "What song is this?" and the chatbot will trigger Google's Song Search interface, the same listening tool familiar to Assistant users. It can recognize music from your environment, a playlist or even if you hum the tune yourself. I'm curious to test just how accurate the humming needs to be. Song Search isn't fully native to Gemini yet. When you ask for song identification, it launches a full-screen listening interface from the Google app (not directly inside Gemini), The song identification update works in the Gemini app on Android, but when you type (or speak) "What song is this?" it kicks you into the Google app's Song Search interface, virtually handing off to the Google app, which feels a bit clunky compared to the way Pixel's Now Playing Assistant handles fairly well. It also doesn't stay inside Gemini Live's conversational experience, which also feels like a miss. And, once it finds a match, the result appears in Google Search, not as an inline Gemini response. For now, this feature works only on Android; there's no Gemini song identification on iOS yet. You'll also need to manually restart the full-screen Song Search interface if you want to identify multiple songs in a row. In terms of comparison, Google Assistant's built-in Now Playing feature is still more seamless. You can trigger it with a voice command or lock screen shortcut, and it shows results inline (often with album art) and even works offline. In contrast, Gemini's new Song Search relies on the Google app's listening interface. You need to type or say "What song is this?" in Gemini, which then opens a full-screen search window and hands off the result to the Google app. It's accurate, pulling from the same song database as Assistant, but the experience is naturally less smooth, since it requires switching apps and doesn't stay inside Gemini itself. Another key difference: while Google Assistant's Now Playing is available on most Android devices and pre-installed on Pixel, Gemini's Song Search is Android-only for now, and it's not yet available on iOS. Yes, Gemini can now identify songs, but it's not yet as smooth as Google Assistant or Pixel's Now Playing feature. Still, if you're using Gemini daily, this brings back a key Assistant-era capability, which is a good sign that Google is listening to user feedback as Gemini evolves into a more complete voice assistant.