After an early tease this month, Google’s Gemini Live AI assistant has now rolled out to all Android users for free. Gemini Live was initially limited to those subscribing to the Gemini Advanced plan for $20 a month, but the voice assistant is now available to anyone who downloads the Gemini app. However, it is only available in English at the moment.
For users who own one of Google’s latest devices, such as the Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro, accessing Gemini Live is as simple as launching the Gemini app and selecting the Live icon at the bottom right corner of the screen. Gemini Live has ten voices to choose from, and you can pick your favorite from the list of star and constellation-based voices.
Gemini Live acts in ways familiar to those who have used Google Assistant or Alexa. The AI can understand casual language and behave in much more human ways during conversations. For instance, it can speculate, help you brainstorm ideas, and even multitask by handling your requests while still carrying on a conversation. The voice options add to the human illusion by being more emotionally expressive than the previous standard for speech.
Live is now available for all Gemini users in English on the Android app. We can’t wait for you to try it. https://t.co/jev4pnuZJ0September 30, 2024
Gemini’s starring role
Gemini Live’s rollout comes even as Google’ faces a rapidly growing array of rivals in the space, including the Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT and Microsoft’s newly revamped Copilot AI with voice interactions.
Like Microsoft, Google clearly hopes that making Gemini Live free will help it stand out in the crowd. The integration with the Android operating system and Google’s ecosystem of devices will likely help in that regard. But, even then, Google has to contend with Apple’s upgrades to Siri as part of the range of Apple Intelligence features that the company will begin rolling out soon.
Still, if you’re frustrated with the limitations of current voice assistants, Gemini Live will feel like a significant upgrade. How Gemini Live stacks up against its many new competitors remains to be seen, though.
It’s obvious that Google wants Gemini to seem more than just Google Assistant. Enhancing Gemini’s place in people’s lives, especially on mobile devices, is how the company hopes to win the current AI assistant war.
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erichs211@gmail.com (Eric Hal Schwartz)
