What you need to know
- Findings from the new Google app beta reveal Google Assistant actions performed by Gemini itself.
- Once rolled out, users will be able to use Gemini instead of Google Assistant to send texts on WhatsApp and Google Messages.
- Similarly, there is also a Spotify extension that works similarly to YouTube Music.
Over the past few years, it has become clear that Google’s Gemini will soon completely replace the good old digital assistant on Android devices. The new discovery marks the beginning, as the latest Google app beta contains evidence that some existing actions that rely on Google Assistant are now performed by Gemini.
According to Assemble Debug, in collaboration with Android Authority, Google Assistant can now perform actions such as sending messages on WhatsApp and Google Messages. However, Gemini may take over these actions due to the possible transition to extensions, as shown in the Google app beta (15.40.31.29). A screenshot confirms this, showing a pop-up that says, “Google Assistant actions are becoming extensions.”
Similarly, Gemini will likely learn which extensions users prefer for tasks like calling and messaging. These can be managed individually and users can request other extensions or disable extensions they don’t need. Android Authority also says that to use the extension, users must ensure that the activity settings in the Gemini app are enabled.
The publication shares demo videos showing how extensions work for WhatsApp, Google Messages, Spotify, and more. The video suggests that it is entirely possible to make calls and send texts on WhatsApp using Gemini.
Google Messages Extension also provides similar functionality such as sending and reading messages. However, in the demo, I was only able to send messages with Gemini, not read recently received messages.
Spotify is the latest extension added to Gemini. This works similarly to what we saw with the initial YouTube Music integration. The publication notes that the extension appears to work for both free and premium Spotify accounts.
Enabling the Spotify extension is easy, and users can directly ask Gemini to play a song or album, and it will display a thumbnail of the song that’s playing. Tapping this takes users directly to the Spotify app.
It’s heartening to see Google bringing these nifty new features to Gemini, alongside the big rollout of Gemini Live that took place just recently. Now also free on Android smartphones, including the addition of new languages. The aforementioned extension can currently be seen in Google’s beta app, which could mean its official rollout isn’t far away.
