is a senior reviewer focused on smart home and connected tech, with over twenty years of experience. She has written previously for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC, and US News.
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It’s finally happening: Google Assistant in the home is getting its Gemini glow-up. “Gemini for Home” is an all-new voice assistant for Google Home, set to arrive later this year, the company announced today.
This new voice assistant, powered by Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence, will eventually replace Google Assistant on Google’s Nest smart speakers and displays for hands-free control of things like smart lights, music, setting timers, and answering questions. Rollout begins in October through an early access program, with both free and paid tiers available. Google says you’ll still summon the assistant with “Hey Google,” and it will work across all your home devices and for every member of your household, as well as visitors.
Google’s timing here is interesting. While the company has been leading the charge in AI on mobile, bringing a smarter, LLM-powered assistant to phones, it’s lagged behind in the home. Amazon’s generative-AI-powered Alexa Plus assistant is already in millions of households.
By comparison, Google’s recent Gemini upgrades for the home have felt incremental — new voices, some more conversational responses, AI-powered features for Nest cameras and automations, and a Gemini option on some speakers. These were all hints at what was coming, but they stopped short of a whole new assistant.
Gemini for Home is that whole new voice assistant, and it could be one of the most significant changes for Google Home since the launch of its first smart display more than six years ago.
The Nest Hub 2, launched in 2021, was the last hardware upgrade for the Nest line of smart speakers and displays. Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge
According to a blog post by Anish Kattukaran, chief product officer of Google Home and Nest, using Gemini for Home will “feel fundamentally new.” He says the new voice assistant leverages the “advanced reasoning, inference and search capabilities” of Google’s AI models, along with adaptations for the home that allow for more natural interactions to complete more complex tasks. In short, it should be an assistant that can better understand context, nuance, and intention — a complete change from its predecessor.
With the launch of Gemini for Home, the race is now on for the most reliable and capable smart home assistant
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