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
For example, Kattukaran says Gemini for Home can accurately respond to requests like “turn off the lights everywhere except my bedroom,” “play that song from this year’s summer blockbuster about race cars,” or “set a timer for perfectly blanched broccoli.” It will also create lists, calendar entries, and reminders more easily than before, he says.
Another big upgrade is that Gemini Live will be part of Gemini for Home, bringing more conversational back-and-forth voice interactions to Google Home without needing to repeatedly say “Hey Google.” Kattukaran says this will allow for more detailed and personalized help — from cooking (“I have spinach, eggs, cream cheese, and smoked salmon in the fridge. Help me make a delicious meal”) to brainstorming how to buy a new car or figuring out how to fix your dishwasher, as well as more creative tasks like generating bedtime stories.
If this sounds familiar, it should. These are features Alexa Plus offers, including better smart home control, more help in the kitchen, and fixing household issues. Alexa Plus also has some agentic capabilities — it can use services like Thumbtack and OpenTable for you. With the launch of Gemini for Home, the race is now on for the most reliable and capable smart home voice assistant — and we’re still waiting for the third competitor, Apple, to get on the track.
Google hasn’t announced pricing for the paid tier of Gemini for Home, but Gemini Live, with its more advanced capabilities, is a likely candidate for a premium plan. Amazon has gone the subscription route with Alexa Plus, bundling it into its Prime subscription. Google may follow suit and bundle it into its Nest Aware or Google One plans. It recently increased the price of Nest Aware to $10 a month with no major feature upgrades.
It’s likely we’ll see new Google Nest hardware this fall
Although Google says Gemini for Home is coming in October, don’t expect it to land everywhere all at once. Google uses its Google Home Public Preview program to test its new features, and has gated access for some Gemini features in the past, only making them available to select users. A cautious rollout is likely, mirroring Amazon’s approach with Alexa Plus. Bringing generative AI into the smart home requires extra caution, especially considering there’s the potential to control critical devices like locks, appliances, and HVAC systems.
All of this, of course, raises an ongoing question for Google Home: Where is the hardware? Aside from the Pixel Tablet, Google hasn’t refreshed its smart speakers or displays since 2021. With Gemini for Home being a major upgrade for Google Home, it’s likely that new hardware designed to showcase its capabilities will launch alongside it this fall.
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