Google's Gemini AI assistant will soon be able to say “hello” to you directly through your messaging and notification apps, according to code discovered by Android Authority. Upcoming extensions for Gemini will continue to expand the options for connecting Gemini's AI to existing services beyond the initial options of Google Flights, Hotels, Maps, Workspace, YouTube, and YouTube Music.
Extensions are a way to give Gemini access to your personal data in real time and improve its response to requests. The code targets that list, adding not only the in-house text messaging tool Google Messages but also the third-party tool WhatsApp. Clearly, Google doesn't plan to keep Gemini to itself.
The Google Messages extension will apparently let you read and reply to messages using voice commands with Gemini. That’s not too dissimilar to what Google Assistant might do, though presumably with the same flexibility in language and wording that Gemini offers. The WhatsApp extension will include the same features, but will be enhanced by the option to make a call through the app by asking Gemini.
The last new extension unearthed in the code is for Android notifications. It looks like it could make notifications much more than just the list you see on the screen. Gemini could organize notifications based on what it’s learned is important to you, and even summarize what you’ve missed if there are a lot of them or if the alerts are related in some way. It would make Gemini noticeably more proactive as an assistant than Google Assistant.
Gemini, start
As Google continues to up the ante on what Gemini can do, it’s worth noting just how much pressure the company is facing from what looks like a tsunami of updates to its biggest rivals. Apple is expected to introduce new Apple Intelligence features for Siri that will debut with the iPhone 16 series this year, and Amazon’s plans for an AI update to Alexa have already been mostly scuttled.
Google wants people to trust Gemini as more than just a toy or a reimagining of Google Assistant; it wants it to be a part of their lives in every way possible. The addition of WhatsApp and its massive number of users around the world makes a lot of sense in that regard. But if Gemini is really going to be the star of AI assistants, Google will likely face a battle on two fronts. There’s the mobile and voice AI competition from companies like Apple and Amazon, as well as the more internet-focused fight to capture the same users that OpenAI, Microsoft, and independent AI services are seeking.
