Google Enhances Smart Home Experience with Gemini AI Integration

Google Assistant is getting a big Gemini upgrade for your smart home -- here's what to expect

Assistant is getting some AI improvements, and here's what we know Earlier this year Google announced that Google Assistant would be getting some improvements, all thanks to the Gemini AI. The idea is that Assistant will be a lot more conversational, so the user feels less like they're talking to a robot and more like there could be a real person on the other end of the line. Sadly, Google didn't specify when this change would be happening, or what those changes might actually be. Now a new APK teardown from the latest version of the Google app by 9to5Google may have revealed some details about how this upgrade will work on smart displays and speakers. Snippets in the app refer to "Introducing an improved Assistant," most likely some sort of an introductory notice informing users that something has changed. With that the code mentions that this new Assistant will offer "Richer Responses" that lets users "hear complex topics summarized quickly and clearly" and "Better Understanding" that lets you pause, ask multiple questions or change your mind -- while still ensuring Assistant understands what you want and how to help. On top of that, Assistant will have access to new voices which are "more natural" that make it easier to "interact with your speakers and displays." So no more dealing with the same boring Assistant voices that barely sound like real people going forward. These changes haven't been enabled yet, which means we'll need to be a little more patient before Assistant can get the Gemini-infused upgrade we've been waiting for. On top of that, the longer we have to wait the more Google could change things. But it's good to see that Google Assistant is evolving behind the scenes, and Google is leveraging its AI advancements in other parts of the business. Considering how many smart devices run Google Assistant, this could be a huge change for a lot of people. Let's just hope that Google doesn't take too long to start rolling it out to everyone.

3 New AI Smart Home Features Arrive With Gemini and Google Nest

Expertise Smart home | Smart security | Home tech | Energy savings | A/V Google has previously signaled its intention to bring its Gemini AI features to the Google Home app and its Nest smart home devices. Now we're seeing what that looks like. Three key Gemini capabilities are available on Google Home now or arriving soon, and you can test out what the AI can do for you right now. Here are the three big Gemini changes and how you can use them for home security and general smart home management. It's one of the first examples we've seen of how these massive large language model AIs can affect everyday smart home use, and we can't wait to take a closer look. Note that these features are available only for English language users, primarily focused on Nest Aware Plus subscribers during the first rollout. They're coming to many more users in time. Tapping into the power of Gemini, Google Home will start providing detailed descriptions along with video clips when a Nest cam or doorbell is activated. That means you don't have to view the video footage directly when you can read a quick description of what Gemini thinks is happening (a man is walking across the street and pauses, etc.). This is an opt-in service for those who join Public Preview at this time, so don't expect surprise text pop-ups. We're curious to see how accurate these Gemini descriptions are, as Gemini hasn't been the most reliable conversational AI to this point. Read more: Best Home Security Cameras of 2024 If you collect video clips in the Google Home app for an extended period (such as with cloud storage via a Nest Aware subscription), you can now opt into a search function. This isn't any basic search, either. With Gemini, you can ask basic questions to get answers without shuffling through the videos yourself. One of Google's simple examples is, "Was the trash taken to the street yesterday?" You could also ask the search function about packages or mail deliveries it recently saw, if the dog was taken for a walk yet and any other timely questions. This feature is currently rolling out to Nest Aware Plus users, and availability should continue expanding in the coming months. The "help me create" feature, coming soon to the Google Home app, is a more user-friendly option for creating home automations. I'm particularly interested in this feature because setting up home routines (and all the compatibility questions that come with it) is one of the most exhausting parts of managing a smart home. This Gemini feature is designed to let you request, in natural language, exactly what you want to happen and then allow Gemini to set it up for you in the Google Home app. So you could say something like, "I want my door to lock when I leave in the morning," or, "I want the lights to flash when someone rings the doorbell," or possibly, "I want a routine that dims the lights and plays music from my romantic playlist," and Gemini will work on putting it all together for you. Now, to the testmobile! We'll be taking these features for a spin in the coming weeks and let you know how they perform and how they're best used. In the meantime, you can update your Google Home system and play around with the new features yourself to see which pass the vibe check.

Gemini is coming to supercharge Google Assistant on smart displays and speakers - and here's how it will work

The "improved Assistant" will offer more comprehensive answers Rather confusingly, Google has two smart assistants in play at the moment: Gemini and Google Assistant. For now at least, Google Assistant is sticking around on smart displays and speakers, but we've now got some clues as to how Gemini will be helping out. The team at 9to5Google spotted code hidden in the latest Google app for Android that referenced "an improved Assistant" with richer responses, a better understanding of your instructions, and a new set of voices to pick from. At the same time as the launches for the Google TV Streamer and the 4th-gen Google Nest Thermostat, we heard that Gemini would be front and center on new products - but that Google Assistant would still be doing a job on older hardware. Based on the code found by 9to5Google - which isn't yet enabled, and may be changed before its released to the wider world - it would appear that the extra smarts available in Gemini will soon be added to Google Assistant on Nest speakers and displays. Google clearly sees Gemini as the future when it comes to smart AI-powered assistants. It's preloaded on the new Pixel 9 phones - see our Google Pixel 9 Pro review for details, for example - and is being pushed into multiple Google apps. There are an awful lot of devices out in the wild with Google Assistant on them though - including third-party hardware that's not made by Google - which means support for the older AI bot is going to have to continue for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, as far as the user experience goes, this continuing transition will be pretty smooth: you'll just speak out or type your requests, and the AI will respond accordingly, no matter which assistant you're actually using behind the scenes. Gemini is slowly but surely adding support for all the tasks that Google Assistant is capable of, while also providing a more intelligent and deeper set of responses when needed, thanks to generative AI - and it seems it's about to arrive on more smart devices soon.

Google Home Is Now Enhanced With the Power of AI

Google's Gemini AI model is great to use as a chatbot, but the company aims to roll it out to other devices to perform different jobs. Now, the tech giant is rolling out its powerful AI tool to Google Home, where the assistant can help you get even more out of your devices. ✕ Remove Ads Google Adds AI Camera Search to the Home App Beforehand, Google Home cameras could only identify people, motion, and packages left on doorsteps. While this was pretty impressive by itself, the new Gemini integration allows your cameras to understand better what it's seeing. Google gives an example where it can tell "whether your dog is napping peacefully or digging up your prize-winning petunias." Because Gemini understands what's going on, you can ask it questions about what happened during the day. The given examples include "Did the kids play in the backyard this afternoon?" and "Was a delivery truck here today?" Google Gemini's LLM can understand what you're saying, get the context, then search its database for anything that matches your query. ✕ Remove Ads The Google Home App Also Gets a Gemini-Powered "Help Me Create" Tool If setting up smart devices puts your head in a spin, Google wants to use the power of Gemini to make it a lot easier. Using "Help Me Create," you can ask Google Gemini to build a smart home automation by describing what you want it to do using natural language. Google Gemini will then parse your request and create something to match it. Here are some examples Google gave as Help Me Create commands: Security: Remember to lock up at night Make it seem like someone's home Health and Wellness: Help me sleep better Set up morning workouts Convenience at Home: Announce dinner time Getting Things Done: Remind me to take out the trash Help me remember to pick up packages ✕ Remove Ads If you want to give these new AI features a spin, sign up for the Google Home Public Preview and download the latest update.

Google's smart home gets AI camera search - but only for these Nest cameras

The new Gemini-powered search will make it easier to find the clip you need in your history, complete with AI-generated descriptions. The Google smart home is getting one of its biggest upgrades in years. In addition to the recent launch of a new Google TV Streamer and Nest Learning Thermostat, the company is bringing Gemini, its set of artificial intelligence (AI) large language models (LLMs), to its smart home experience with new AI-generated summaries, automations, and a Gemini-powered search feature. Also: I tested the new Eero Outdoor 7, and it's a smart home system worth splurging for Google Nest security cameras can detect general motion, people, and animals. Google recently updated its cameras with garage door detection through the Nest Aware subscription. This newer feature lets you monitor -- using AI image detection -- whether or not your garage door was left open. Beginning today, Google is adding Gemini to the smart home Nest cameras in the Google Home app, using AI-powered image recognition to generate descriptions of what the camera captures. This feature is only available for cameras in a Nest Aware Plus subscription. Google shared the example of a camera looking into a backyard where kids jump into a swimming pool. The description read, "Three children jumping into a swimming pool, chasing after a pool toy. The sun shines brightly, casting long shadows," instead of an ambiguous "motion detected." This approach reduces false alerts and provides rich descriptions of captured information. I asked Google if the feature would work with Nest Aware's person identification tech, which recognizes previously identified people to give you more specific alerts. Google said this option isn't available yet, but the company is working on it. Also: This is the most bizarre portable power station I've tested - and it actually works Thanks to Gemini, you can also search your activity for specific events, such as asking, "When did the kids go into the pool?" The AI assistant can reference a camera overlooking a pool to get the time when people went in. For Nest Aware Plus subscribers who opt into AI camera search this week, the Nest cameras will show detailed descriptions of clips in the Google Home app and let you search for specific clips by looking up "white dog" or "Amazon delivery truck," for example. Nest cameras' Gemini-powered alerts will let you create automations based on what is detected in the image. For example, you can ask Google Assistant if your kids left their bikes on the driveway and then tell Assistant to remind them to bring their bikes into the garage when they arrive from school. Gemini will set an automation through a camera to tell whoever arrives between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm to bring their bikes into the garage. Of course, these features will be even more helpful if Google combines them with Nest Aware's people identification feature. For example, you could ask, "When did X person bring in the groceries?" or give different visitors custom greetings or messages through the video doorbell. Also: This is the most bizarre portable power station I've tested - and it actually works Google says an updated, Gemini-powered Google Assistant matches "the original vision for a virtual assistant." Google Assistant currently works like Amazon Alexa and Apple's Siri, with natural language processing technology that creates a response to user queries, but is otherwise limited, as it cannot maintain context enough to respond to follow-up questions, for example. The updated Google Assistant will understand better and speak more naturally than ever before. The technology will handle follow-up questions, maintaining conversational context for more natural and fluid interactions. These updates to existing Nest smart speakers and displays are coming soon.

These Google Home, Nest camera AI features are actually useful and coming soon

The company also confirmed that Gemini-powered automation creation is coming to Google Home later this year. Google has been adding Gemini capabilities to many of its platforms and services. Now, the company has announced that the AI chatbot's capabilities are coming to a few more platforms. Google previously revealed Gemini integration for Nest cameras in August, namely AI descriptions and smarter camera history search. But the company has now confirmed availability details for these features. Are you keen on trying out these new capabilities? They're only available as opt-in features to select Nest Aware Plus subscribers in the US (English). The Google Home app can also give you suggestions for automations based on the devices in your home and how you use them. Either way, this seems like a great way to simplify smart home automation. "Help me create" functionality will launch later this year to select Nest Aware Plus subscribers in the US. It'll only be available in the Google Home Android app at first. Either way, we hope this feature comes to other markets sooner rather than later.

Google Home starts testing Gemini 'AI Camera Search' and descriptions

As teased in August, Gemini is coming to Google Home, starting with "AI Camera Search" and "Help Me Create." Powered by Gemini, AI Camera Search is pitched as letting your Nest Cams "start to understand what's happening." Video clips in the Google Home will add detailed "AI descriptions" to "make it easier for you to search and review your recorded footage." You'll see them in the Activity tab. Examples include: Meanwhile, you will be able to search camera history with natural questions like: Once available, a new search field will appear on top of the Activity tab. Initial availability of Gemini-powered AI Camera Search will be for "select Nest Aware Plus users" in US English that are part of the Google Home Public Preview. From the Public Preview page in the top-right corner of the Google Home app, there will be an on/off toggle for "Experimental AI features." This is rolling out starting this week. This button will be greyed out if you don't have a Nest Aware Plus subscription or the feature is not available yet for you The other Gemini feature coming soon is "Help Me Create" in the Google Home app. You can describe what you want to do and Google will create an automation:

Google Is Making It Easier to Automate Your Smart Home

Amazon's Echo Spot Is a Great Piece of Hardware Marred By Software Issues Google Home is finally gaining its first Gemini AI integrations, namely the "Help Me Create" automation generator and the "AI Camera Search" function. Plus, you can now control Google Home from the Gemini chatbot app. ✕ Remove Ads Help Me Create, originally teased in August, is practically the polar opposite of Google's Home Automation Script Editor. While the old Script Editor is intended power users who are confident enough to program routines, Help Me Create is designed for those who are less inclined to build automations from scratch. From the Google Home app, you can ask Help Me Create to generate an automation that makes your home more energy efficient, for example, or that automatically adjusts smart bulb temperature throughout the day. Close ✕ Remove Ads The AI Camera Search feature is arguably more useful than Help Me Create. It lets you ask your cameras what they've seen using natural language. So, you might ask if the USPS van stopped by today, or if the dog dug a hole in the yard. Google Home will surface any relevant results, and it will automatically label camera events in an easy-to-read feed. (I doubt that this will be perfect at launch, but it's got a lot of potential.) There's also the new Google Home extension for Gemini. It lets you control your smart home from the Gemini AI chatbot app (on Android). I'm not sure why you would type out a command that you could just as easily perform in the Google Home app or through Google Assistant (which is still considered a component of the Google Home ecosystem, per Google). Maybe Gemini is useful for more complicated commands, or time-based commands like "turn off all the lights and turn on the TV at 6 PM." I really don't know. ✕ Remove Ads Help Me Create is rolling out to Nest Aware subscribers in Public Preview over the coming months. AI Camera Search, which also requires a Nest Aware membership in Public Preview, is available today. The Gemini Google Home extension does not require a subscription but is only available in Public Preview. Source: Google