Google Introduces AI Notification Summaries to Pixel Phones with Cautious Approach
3 Sources
3 Sources
[1]
How to Enable the New AI Notification Summaries on Your Pixel Phone
Blake has over a decade of experience writing for the web, with a focus on mobile phones, where he covered the smartphone boom of the 2010s and the broader tech scene. When he's not in front of a keyboard, you'll most likely find him playing video games, watching horror flicks, or hunting down a good churro. One of the best aspects of owning a Pixel phone is that Google releases periodic "Pixel Drop" updates, which introduce new software features between major operating system updates. November's Pixel Drop brings a slew of new features, including one that'll be familiar to iOS users: AI-powered notification summaries. We won't lie -- we weren't big fans of how AI notification summaries worked when they first launched on iOS. They often left out crucial information, resulting in summaries that were either dramatic or alarmist. This prompted some people to turn them off completely, but they've improved a bit since launch. Google's lead in the AI game may give it an advantage, but only time will tell. These Pixel AI summaries will appear for popular messaging apps when you receive either multiple or lengthy messages, so that you can quickly get a gist of the conversation. The feature appears to be rolling out in a server-side update, so don't worry if you don't see the option right away. It's also disabled by default, so we'll show you where to check and how to enable notification summaries on your Pixel phone when it arrives. Don't miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source. Google's been pretty good about getting new features to older Pixel phones, but notification summaries don't seem to be one of them. The new feature is available on the Pixel 9 series, excluding the Pixel 9a, and the latest Pixel 10 line of phones. For now, the feature is only available in English. While the Pixel 8 series did introduce some AI-powered features during its lifecycle, it was the Pixel 9 that truly felt like Google's first "pure" AI phone, so the limitation makes sense. If Notification summaries are available for your Pixel, the option will appear under the Manage section of the Notification settings page. Here are the steps to turn the feature on: That's it. Now you'll receive summaries from popular messaging apps when the conversation gets too lengthy.
[2]
How AI Notification Summaries work on the Pixel 9 and 10
With the November 2025 Feature Drop, Google announced AI Notification Summaries for the latest Pixel phones. The capability is rolling out now, and here's how it works. To enable on the Pixel 9 and 10 series (9a excluded), go to Settings > Notifications > Notification Summaries. This feature is off by default, and not yet widely rolled out. It doesn't automatically appear after updating to the November patch. Google will only summarize "long conversations" in English from "popular" messaging apps, like Google Messages and WhatsApp. "Shorter notifications, like brief text messages" and text with multiple languages or "only emoji" will not be summarized. The capability is also disabled when Battery Saver mode is active. Another reason why an AI summary might not be generated is if "you're actively using your phone" as the "screen must be off for a moment." These brief overviews start with a sparkle icon and are italicized. Expanding the notification will show the full message thread. From Settings, Google offers a "Don't include these apps" list to control what gets summarized. Behind-the-scenes, Android System Intelligence is powering this experience and has to be "Allowed" under Settings > Notifications > Privacy > Notification read, reply & control. On-device Gemini Nano is leveraged, so that model has to be up-to-date. In December, Google will also organize and silence lower-priority notifications into categories like "News" and "Promotions" at the bottom of the shade.
[3]
Google Is Cautiously Experimenting With One of Apple's Most Controversial AI Features
Google is adding one of the iPhone's most controversial features to its latest Pixel phones, but it's promising to show a bit more restraint than Apple did. Yes, as part of the November 2025 Pixel feature drop, Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 phones (excluding the Pixel 9a) are getting AI notification summaries. If you're reeling back after reading that, I don't blame you. This is one of the few AI features Apple beat Google to the punch on, and when they came out during the iOS 18.3 beta, the summaries were quickly criticized for handling hard topics like breakups with a cold tone, as well as for misreporting the news. Apple quickly pulled news summaries (although they've since come back) and made it clearer when an AI was writing a notification, but it seems Google's still being a bit more cautious with its launch. Rather than trying to organize every notification you might get, Google's AI Summaries are just starting off with popular chat apps for now, including its own Messages app and alternatives like WhatsApp. Additionally, they'll only kick in on "longer chats," with the idea being to give you, "digestible conversation recaps." That means you're going to see far fewer AI notifications than on the iPhone, which currently uses them for news, entertainment, chats, email, and more. That's probably a safer approach for Google, but it does mean the AI summaries are meant to be used more to get you quickly back up to speed, rather than for organization (although that will change in the future). As on the iPhone, AI notification summaries on the Pixel will be indicated by a small icon with a sparkle and a few lines below it, with the summary following. They'll also be italicized for additional visual distinction. Google is also exercising caution by making its AI notification summaries entirely opt-in. That means you'll need to manually turn them on before you start seeing them, which you can do under Settings > Notifications > Notification Summaries. While on this page, you'll also be able to exclude certain apps from sending AI notification summaries, by adding them to the "Don't include these apps" list. If you're still not seeing the summaries after enabling them, ensure your Android System Intelligence is enabled under Settings > Notifications > Privacy > Notification read, reply & control. Additionally, summaries will not be generated while your phone is in battery saver mode, or while you're actively using it (per Google, for them to kick in, "the screen must be off for a moment"). AI Notification summaries start rolling out today, alongside the November system patch. However, they're not automatically included in the downloadable patch, so it might be a while before you see them (I don't have them yet). It's still not a bad idea to get your phone fully up-to-date in the meantime. To download the November 2025 Pixel update, either wait for a notification from Google, or head to Settings > System > Software updates to manually check if it's been rolled out to you yet. While today's update is clearly just Google dipping its toes in the water, the company does have bigger plans for December, where some Pixels will also start automatically silencing "lower-priority notifications" and will start automatically sorting them into categories like "News" and "Promotions." Hopefully, Google will have learned some lessons from Apple by the time those features go live.
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Google rolls out AI-powered notification summaries to Pixel 9 and 10 series phones as part of November 2025 Feature Drop, taking a more restrained approach than Apple's controversial implementation.
Google's Measured Response to Apple's AI Controversy
Google has introduced AI-powered notification summaries to its latest Pixel smartphones as part of the November 2025 Feature Drop, marking the company's entry into one of the most controversial AI features pioneered by Apple. The feature, available exclusively on Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 series devices (excluding the Pixel 9a), represents Google's cautious approach to implementing technology that has faced significant criticism on iOS platforms
1
3
.
Source: Lifehacker
Unlike Apple's broader implementation that initially covered news, entertainment, email, and messaging across all notification types, Google has deliberately limited its AI summaries to popular messaging applications including Google Messages and WhatsApp. The feature specifically targets "long conversations" and "lengthy messages," providing users with digestible conversation recaps rather than attempting to organize every notification
2
3
.Technical Implementation and Requirements
The AI notification summaries are powered by on-device Gemini Nano processing through Android System Intelligence, ensuring privacy by keeping data local to the device. The feature requires specific conditions to activate: the phone's screen must be off momentarily, Battery Saver mode must be disabled, and conversations must be in English. Google will not summarize shorter notifications, messages containing only emojis, or text with multiple languages
2
.Users can identify AI-generated summaries through visual cues including a sparkle icon, italicized text formatting, and brief overview content that appears before the full message thread. The system allows granular control through a "Don't include these apps" exclusion list, giving users the ability to customize which applications participate in the summarization process 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Google's Measured Response to Apple's AI Controversy
Google has introduced AI-powered notification summaries to its latest Pixel smartphones as part of the November 2025 Feature Drop, marking the company's entry into one of the most controversial AI features pioneered by Apple. The feature, available exclusively on Pixel 9 and Pixel 10 series devices (excluding the Pixel 9a), represents Google's cautious approach to implementing technology that has faced significant criticism on iOS platforms
1
3
.Source: Lifehacker
Unlike Apple's broader implementation that initially covered news, entertainment, email, and messaging across all notification types, Google has deliberately limited its AI summaries to popular messaging applications including Google Messages and WhatsApp. The feature specifically targets "long conversations" and "lengthy messages," providing users with digestible conversation recaps rather than attempting to organize every notification
2
3
.Technical Implementation and Requirements
The AI notification summaries are powered by on-device Gemini Nano processing through Android System Intelligence, ensuring privacy by keeping data local to the device. The feature requires specific conditions to activate: the phone's screen must be off momentarily, Battery Saver mode must be disabled, and conversations must be in English. Google will not summarize shorter notifications, messages containing only emojis, or text with multiple languages
2
.Users can identify AI-generated summaries through visual cues including a sparkle icon, italicized text formatting, and brief overview content that appears before the full message thread. The system allows granular control through a "Don't include these apps" exclusion list, giving users the ability to customize which applications participate in the summarization process
2
3
.
Source: 9to5Google
Related Stories
Opt-In Approach and User Control
Google has made the feature entirely opt-in, requiring manual activation through Settings > Notifications > Notification Summaries. This contrasts sharply with Apple's initial implementation, which was enabled by default and faced criticism for generating inappropriate summaries of sensitive topics like breakups and misreporting news events. The deliberate choice to make the feature disabled by default reflects Google's awareness of the controversy surrounding Apple's approach
1
3
.The rollout follows a server-side deployment model, meaning the feature may not immediately appear for all users even after installing the November system update. Users must ensure Android System Intelligence permissions are properly configured under Settings > Notifications > Privacy > Notification read, reply & control for the feature to function correctly
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.Future Expansion Plans
Google has announced plans to expand the AI notification system in December 2025, when it will introduce automatic organization and silencing of lower-priority notifications. The upcoming update will categorize notifications into groups such as "News" and "Promotions" at the bottom of the notification shade, representing a more comprehensive approach to notification management similar to Apple's current implementation
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