Google announced Thursday that it is making Gemini Live available in more than 40 languages, allowing global users (no longer just English speakers) to access the conversational AI feature, as well as enabling the full Gemini AI to connect with additional Google apps in more languages.
Gemini Live is Google’s answer to OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode or Meta’s Voice Interactions. The feature enables users to converse with the AI as if it were another person, eliminating the need for text-based prompts. Gemini Live made its debut in May during the company’s I/O 2024 event and was initially released for Gemini Advanced subscribers in August before being made available to all users (on Android, at least) in September.
Throughout that period, users could only speak with the AI in English. Starting today, users will be able to chat in French, German, Portuguese, Hindi, and Spanish, with the rest of the 40-plus languages being made available in the coming weeks.
To access the new languages, open the Google app on your Android device and click on your Profile picture at the top of the screen. From there select Settings > Google Assistant > Languages to choose the one (or two) that you want to use.
Google is also incorporating the Gemini model into more of its apps via Extensions. Similar to an API, this feature enables the Gemini app to interact with other apps and pull data from them, such as real-time flight information or location-based data, to provide the user with better and more accurate replies. Initially, Extensions only worked with a handful of Google apps, specifically, Gmail Maps and YouTube, then expanded access to Calendar, Tasks, Keep, and Utilities, though only in English.
“Over the coming weeks, you’ll be able to connect to new tools across different apps and in more languages, making it even easier to get things done,” Google’s announcement post reads. The company suggests that you can “have Gemini dig out that lasagna recipe sent to you in your Gmail, and ask it to add the ingredients to your shopping list in Keep.” Extensions is not currently compatible with Gemini Live.
