Google’s decision to replace the Google Assistant with Gemini was a controversial one—the AI chatbot was useful for basically everything but what people typically used Assistant for. Now, though, it’s slowly getting third-party integrations to restore that functionality, and the latest one is Spotify.
Google is rolling out a new Spotify extension for its Gemini chatbot/assistant, allowing users to control their music playback using natural language commands. This integration marks the second third-party extension for Gemini, following the recent addition of WhatsApp.
With the Spotify extension, users can request specific songs, albums, or playlists by simply asking Gemini. The AI platform can also search for music based on artist names, lyrics, or even general moods or activities. The fact that it’s generative AI should mean that Gemini will be able to parse and fulfill your request more efficiently than Google Assistant, which relied on specific worded commands. But of course, your mileage may vary—it’s still generative AI, so there’s still a non-zero chance it’ll make a mistake and pull up death metal music when you ask it for N-SYNC’s best hits.
To use the Spotify extension, users must have their Spotify account linked to their Google Account. Gemini will default to the last used music service if multiple services are connected. Notably, the extension only works with the Gemini Android app and requires the language to be set to English. Additionally, playing specific songs on demand is limited to Spotify Premium subscribers.
Perhaps the most notable extension Google has rolled out to Gemini recently is Google Home, and it’s tremendously useful since it even helps you create automations on the fly. We were lacking some third-party integrations, however, and we’re glad to see that changing now. The rollout seems to be gradual—we don’t seem to have the feature yet on our phones, for one.
Source: 9to5Google
