Google is extending its Gemini AI assistant with Personal Intelligence in Android Auto. The new tool aims to expedite the driver's journey by getting information from connected Google apps to provide customized answers, information to find the right places to go, and drive in the right direction based on what is going on.
With this update, drivers can now talk to Gemini using natural voice commands, and they will be able to browse through emails, calendar appointments or photo galleries instead of manually searching for them. For example, a passenger going to the airport could ask the assistant about their flight details, while another driver could ask for directions to a clinic mentioned in an upcoming appointment. Drivers can work on the same application (e.g., doctor clinic).
Google's Personal Intelligence can draw on information from services like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Photos, YouTube, and Google Search, depending on the apps and enabled settings. By using relevant information from these services, Gemini can provide responses tailored to a user's plans, saved information and previous activities.
The feature is being rolled out to Android Auto and Google cars with Google built-in support will be available in the near future. But having personalised responses will only be possible if users enable Personal Intelligence and provide the necessary connections.
How Gemini Personal Intelligence Works in Android Auto
Traditional in-car voice assistants perform a variety of useful tasks, such as finding locations, making calls, playing music and answering general questions. Gemini Personal Intelligence extends these capabilities by utilizing the relevant information from other Google services to help the assistant in answering questions.
Consider a driver arriving at the airport. Instead of checking Gmail for a flight confirmation, the driver can ask Gemini about the flight. If the relevant booking information is there through the connected account, the assistant can help extract its information and check the flight status.
The feature could also simplify day-to-day navigation. A driver who has a doctor’s appointment saved in Google Calendar may ask Gemini for directions to the clinic. Instead of searching through the address manually, the assistant can use the appointment information to help them find the destination.
Google has also demonstrated how Gemini could help users locate a business they photographed earlier. For instance, if a user took a picture of a car wash during the week but can't remember the name or location of the car wash, they could ask Gemini to help them find the car wash with the image and point them to it.
These capabilities are intended to make voice interactions more contextual. Gemini can use information already available in connected apps and not need drivers to provide every detail in a command. So its responses will depend on what information the assistant is able to provide.
Which Google Apps Can Gemini Use?
Personal Intelligence is designed to work across various Google services, enabling Gemini access to different types of information when the user makes the appropriate connections.
Gmail may be able to help the assistant retrieve some information from emails if they know about a trip and confirmations, etc. Google Calendar can also provide context for appointments and planned activities and could help them know where to go if they are going to do things in the future.
Google Maps supports location-related tasks, while Google Photos can help provide context from previously saved images. Google Search and YouTube are also included in the larger Personal Intelligence ecosystem.
The integration is intended to reduce the effort to locate information while driving. Users should remember that the assistant's ability to answer a question depends on the information available to it and the permissions they have enabled.
Personal Intelligence Is Optional: What About Privacy?
Personal information is much more useful for an AI assistant but it also raises privacy and data access concerns as well. Emails, photographs, appointments and search activity can contain sensitive information and it is important for users to know how connected services are used.
Google has made Personal Intelligence an optional feature. Users must enable it for getting personalised responses based on their connected applications, and they can switch it off through Gemini settings.
Drivers who don’t want to connect their personal information can continue using standard in-car assistant features. Navigation, calling, music playback and regular Gemini queries will still be available without Personal Intelligence, but responses will not be personalised using the connected app data.
Users should check their connected applications and permissions before using the feature. They should also verify important information like flight schedules and appointment details rather than just relying on the AI-generated information.
The optional nature of the feature allows drivers to choose between a more personalised assistant or a more limited experience that does not use connected app information for personalisation.
Which Cars Will Get Gemini Personal Intelligence?
Google is bringing Personal Intelligence to Android Auto, which enables compatible smartphone applications and services to be integrated into a vehicle's infotainment display through a connected phone.
In the future, the company will extend support to vehicles with Google built-in. Google built-in, unlike Android Auto, supports all the Google services and Android apps that are supported by compatible vehicles but also allows them to run.
In addition to Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Volvo and Polestar, other car manufacturers are offering vehicles with Google built-in. But Google built-in doesn’t mean that you will immediately have access to Personal Intelligence in your vehicle. Availability will depend on the vehicle and software, and when the feature will be available to you.
Google also states that personalised responses in vehicles with Google built-in require the user's phone to be connected to the vehicle. Drivers should therefore check compatibility and software availability before expecting the new functionality in their cars.
How the Update Could Change the In-Car AI Experience
Gemini Personal Intelligence is another step forward in context-aware voice assistants that respond to a driver's plans and existing information rather than simply inputting commands.
For frequent travellers, the ability to see flight details could save time. For everyday commuters, appointment navigation and photo-assisted destination searches can help in finding new places. The integration might also alleviate the need to have to pull out a phone while driving if the user is able to use the assistant through voice commands and follow local road-safety rules.
But the benefits will depend on how reliably Gemini picks up on the relevant information and how comfortable users are connecting with Google services. Personalised responses can be useful, but users must be mindful of the permissions they grant and not get sidetracked by long, drawn-out interactions behind the wheel.
In general, Google’s latest update aims to make Gemini a more useful driving companion and will work to integrate conversational AI with information from connected apps. In the future, this feature will be available to Android Auto and Google built-in vehicles and help drivers find all the details as well as plan their journey and find destinations without having to search through a lot of apps.
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