Anyone who has a Google smart home set up will likely be able to tell you that Google Assistant isn’t the smartest AI tool in the shed. I have the full rigamarole set up across my house from Google Chromecasts to Google Nest Hubs and even a couple of ‘Works with Google’ products for good measure.
While the products themselves are great, the actual AI that runs them feels quite outdated – a bit like Siri when she first came out and couldn’t really understand what you were asking.
Google Assistant is just in need of a bit of a revamp – right now it feels like no matter how loud and clear I speak, it just doesn’t understand.
There’s only so many times I can ask my Google Nest Mini to ‘Play Orange is the New Black on Netflix on Bedroom TV’ and suddenly I hear the intro to the show blaring out from my Hub Nest down in the Kitchen. Or have to repeat myself because Google Assistant ‘Didn’t quite get that’.
I ask my Google Nest Hub to show me who is at the door, because I don’t want to speak to yet another salesman – and unfortunately Google Assistant just doesn’t understand what I mean even though I literally have a Google Nest Doorbell.
I’ve been stood in rooms and repeated ‘Hey Google’ countless times to just receive no response. I’ve had enough.
Google finally announced that Gemini will be coming to Google Home products, confirming that this new AI will be “both more powerful and easier to use than Google Assistant.”
This will allow you to make requests without having to stick to a rigid structure when you speak. I’m hoping this will feel more natural.
Gemini Live also allows you to speak straight to the AI, having lifelike conversations as it thinks about realistic answers. This will make for a much more pleasant experience when dealing with Gemini when compared to the rigidity of Google Assistant.
While I’m yet to try out Gemini on Google smart home products, I’m hoping this integration will improve my experience. Right now my Google Nest is unplugged, because I never use it – I got fed up.
Having a smarter AI running in these smart home products will hopefully stop me from having to repeat myself over and over again. I’m hoping it can actually understand my requests without the need for structured sentences which cause me to stutter when I mess them up.
When using Gemini on my laptop or phone, I find it absolutely seamless. No matter what I throw its way, whether it’s image generation, simple requests or more complication information gathering, I’ve never encountered an issue.
However, I don’t often use Gemini Live – the voice activated chatbot – opting for typing my prompts instead. When I have used the voice chatbot, I’ve never had an issue, especially not the degree I have with Google Assistant.
I’m also looking forward to stepping away from the rigid structured questions, with Google claiming you’ll be able to ask Gemini questions like “play that song from this year’s summer blockbuster about race cars”.
Ask Google Assistant a question like this and it will find a way to entirely malfunction and need a full factory reset (well… I’m being hyperbolic, but you get the point).
Gemini Live is powerful, understanding and all too promising. If Gemini doesn’t save Google smart home products – I’m not sure what will.
What’s the point of having a smart home if I still have to check the weather on my phone because when I ask Google, it doesn’t quite understand what I mean?
Gemini is set to release on Google smart home products on the 1st of October.
