Google’s Gemini AI is slowly but steadily creeping up in more and more of the company’s products. After making its way to Google Maps with several AI features, showing up in Chrome to help you write, and rolling out to Google Home as a preview, Google Gemini is now live on Android Auto to become your trusted copilot with whom you can have a natural conversation. As you can expect, Gemini has the potential to be pretty helpful while you’re driving, while eliminating the distraction of having to tap on your phone or the car’s infotainment system.
As it’s a conversational AI assistant, you can make requests without worrying about the command syntax and specific voice commands. It also understands the context of your conversation, which means follow-up questions and commands work seamlessly. Moreover, thanks to its access to other Google products and integration with them, it can perform tasks that would be tricky for other AI assistants, especially if you are already a big part of the Google ecosystem. So, here are two of its best features for Android Auto users that you should try when you are in your car next.
Gemini is your know-it-all navigator
While the regular Google Assistant can find directions to your destination, a spot to charge your EV, or even look up a restaurant to have lunch on the way, Gemini’s AI capabilities can handle more complex and tricky asks. For example, you can ask it to “find a well-rated restaurant serving Italian cuisine, which doesn’t require a big detour and has lots of parking.” You can also follow up with questions about people’s reviews of a restaurant you find interesting from the suggested options, its popular dishes, or whether it’s pet-friendly.
Similarly, if you’re driving an EV, you can request something like “find me an EV charging location with charging guns that can deliver above 150KW of power and has restaurants around to have a meal while my car charges.” Thanks to its integration with Google Maps and access to a wide range of information from around the web, it’s able to fulfill such complex queries without breaking a sweat.
Stay productive on the road
Another major highlight of Gemini AI is its ability to help you remain productive even when you are on the road. It can go through your Gmail and accomplish certain tasks while driving. You can ask it for things like “I have a hotel booked for tonight, can you find my reservation on Gmail and look for its address, and get me directions,” or ask it to “find my hotel’s address from the reservation email and suggest good eating spots to have dinner when I arrive.”
Gemini can also share a summary of any new emails in your Gmail inbox so that you don’t miss out on important communications. Additionally, you can ask it to create reminders for something specific, schedule a calendar event, or jot down any of your thoughts about an upcoming meeting. These are just some examples of what you can do with Gemini and Gmail, but it has the potential to do a lot more, including sending messages, creating playlists to match your vibe, or brainstorming ideas — all in your car.
