What you need to know
- Google recently debuted Gemini Live, a new experience that lets users have free-flowing conversations with Gemini directly from their smartphones.
- The experience supports mid-response interruptions and can be used in the background or when your phone is locked.
- The experience has started rolling out in English for Android users, but should also be available for iOS in the coming weeks.
We’re well past the digital assistant age, where tools like Google Assistant or Siri’s capabilities were limited to simple and mundane tasks like setting alarms, reminders, or simple internet searches. Generative AI has broken through these barriers with tools like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini, which can handle complex tasks.
Speaking of Gemini, Google just announced Gemini Live at its Made by Google 2024 event. For context, Gemini Live is Google’s new mobile conversational experience that lets users have “free-flowing conversations with Gemini.”
Google is also introducing 10 new languages with different tones and styles, to make the user’s interaction with Gemini more natural. The company has provided potential use cases for the new Gemini experience, including having a back-and-forth conversation with the AI digital assistant about career options based on the user’s skillset.
Interestingly, users can interrupt Gemini Live mid-response to hammer down on a specific point without confusing it or throwing it off its train of thought. “It’s like having a sidekick in your pocket who you can chat with about new ideas or practice with for an important conversation,” added Google.
Additionally, Gemini Live features a hands-free experience. According to Google:
“You can keep talking with the Gemini app in the background or when your phone is locked, so you can carry on your conversation on the go, just like you might on a regular phone call.”
The new experience has rolled out in English to Gemini Advanced users on Android. Google says Gemini Live will ship to iOS and more languages in the “coming weeks.”
How do I gain access to Google’s Gemini Live experience?
As highlighted above, Gemini Live is rolling out in waves to Android users and should ship to iOS in the coming users. As far as I can tell, you won’t need to sign up for a waitlist or opt-in. Users with the $20 Gemini Advanced subscription (part of the Google One AI Premium Plan) should get direct access to the new experience.
Gemini Live is similar to OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode, including interrupting the chatbot mid-response to focus on a particular point. This specific capability shipped to Advanced Voice Mode but is still limited to a select group of users. OpenAI plans to get feedback from these users, which it intends to use to fine-tune its user experience.
