Google rolls out Personal Intelligence for Gemini on Android Auto, letting drivers ask about their own email, calendar and saved places
Personal Intelligence is now rolling out for Gemini on Android Auto and in the coming months to cars with Google built-in, so you can get even better hands-free help on the road. With your permission, Personal Intelligence securely connects information from the Google apps you already use — like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Search — so you can make complex requests, get personalized recommendations, retrieve details from past conversations and more.
Context
Bringing a personal assistant into the car is a large new surface for Gemini, and it tests how much personal data people will let AI use.
Personal Intelligence is Google's opt in feature that lets Gemini draw on a user's Google apps. It was already available in the Gemini app, and this extends it to cars.
Deep dive
On October 20, Google posted that Personal Intelligence is rolling out for Gemini on Android Auto, and in the coming months to cars with Google built in, for better hands free help on the road. It said that with permission, the feature connects information from Google apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Search, to handle complex requests, give personalized recommendations and retrieve details from past conversations.
Google's blog post, by senior product manager Karan Daryanani, says Gemini is now available globally on Android Auto and cars with Google built in, and that Personal Intelligence also draws on Google Photos, Maps and YouTube. Its examples include asking for a flight gate and status in one question, finding a restaurant along the route that matches your usual vibe, and navigating to a car wash from a photo taken last week. The video shows the flight example on a car screen.
Google says apps are not connected until users turn the feature on, and that cars with Google built in only share personal responses when the user's phone is connected. If it is already on in the Gemini app, it carries over to the car.
According to Android Authority, the feature is limited to eligible personal accounts of users 18 and older, and is not available in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the UK or Nigeria.
What to expect next
Watch how quickly carmakers with Google built in add the feature, and whether it reaches Europe and the UK later. Drivers' reactions will show whether personal answers in the car are useful or a privacy concern. Also watch whether Apple and Amazon respond with more personal assistants in cars, and whether regulators look at AI assistants as a source of driver distraction.