GoKawiilKerry Wan/ZDNET
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ZDNET's key takeaways
Android Auto's Custom Assistant is an underutilized shortcut.
You can trigger multiple actions, and Gemini makes the shortcut more useful.
Custom Assistant takes only a minute to set up.
Android Auto is a highly convenient, albeit underused, feature available in most modern cars. Even if your vehicle doesn't support it natively, you can buy an inexpensive Android Auto display and enjoy your phone's features safely while driving. A relatively unknown shortcut, however, can help you easily automate these everyday tasks from your car.
While Android Auto gives you safe access to your phone's navigation, messages, calling, and more while driving, using the Custom Assistant shortcut lets you trigger preset actions and automations to control anything you can do with your phone.
Also: I tested Gemini on Android Auto and now I can't stop talking to it: 5 tasks it nails
And the recent addition of Google Gemini to Android Auto makes the interface even more useful for handling complex commands via shortcuts that are as easy to run as pressing a button.
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