Google Home Gets Gemini AI Updates
Google Home is rolling out new Gemini and smart home updates with expanded automation, device compatibility, and AI-powered convenience features. The updates are available now in your app and hub, bringing improvements to device control, integration, and routines. This could significantly enhance DIY smart home automations and ecosystem management.
This update represents a significant step in Google's strategy to revitalize its smart home ambitions after acknowledging that its Nest and Home products had fallen behind competitors. The move pivots from the often-criticized Google Assistant to the more advanced, conversational Gemini AI, aiming to shift from simple commands to a more intuitive, context-aware user experience. New automation triggers have been added, allowing routines to start based on the status of a security system, or whether a device is plugged in or docked. For example, a user could create an automation to receive a notification if their Pixel Tablet isn't docked by a specific time. These new triggers are currently available only within the app's automation editor. Gemini's contextual understanding has been improved to better recognize devices even with unique names. A lamp named "Table Glow," for instance, will now be correctly identified as a light and included in commands like "turn on the lights" based on its manufacturer metadata. The AI will also better isolate commands to the user's current home, preventing accidental light-switching in a second property. For Google Home Premium subscribers, a new "Live Search" feature allows users to query their camera's real-time video feed. This enables questions like, "is there a car in the driveway right now?", a shift from only being able to analyze past recorded events. The premium subscription costs either $10 for a Standard plan or $20 a month for the Advanced plan which includes this feature. The update also brings general availability for expanded Nest x Yale Lock controls, allowing all users to view lock history, manage passcodes, and schedule guest access directly from the Home app. Additionally, a software update for Nest Wifi Pro has been rolled out to improve mesh performance, security, and stability. This push towards a more integrated and intelligent system comes after numerous user complaints regarding the declining reliability of Google Assistant and the Google Home platform. Anish Kattukaran, Google's head of smart home product, has previously acknowledged these issues and positioned Gemini as the core of the solution to get the platform right.
