I’m not sure how to put it, but sometimes it’s simply too much emotional work to open a different app on my phone and type some text.
I have two separate confirmation emails that provide information about an Airbnb reservation that I need to compile and forward to my friends. Or I want to figure out what time I should leave this coffee shop so that I can take the bus home by a specific time. These tasks aren’t difficult, but they take so much tapping between screens or between apps that I find myself thinking, You know what? That email doesn’t really need to go out just yet. With the bus schedule, I’ll just wing it and hope for the best.
These are the jobs I would like AI to take from me. AI is still lacking, even with Google’s new Gemini assistant. Gemini, though, seems to offer a sneak peek into what that AI future might hold—that is, if you are a die-hard Google user.
Formerly called Bard, Google’s AI chatbot is now called Gemini. It’s an app that you can download from the Google Play Store, but if your phone is an Android phone, it’s actually just a portion of the Google app that you probably already have on it. After it’s operational, Gemini can take the place of the default Google Assistant and be accessed in the same manner as the previous assistant. But now it can do everything Bard did, including reading your emails, making recommendations, and answering complicated questions, in addition to setting timers and providing the weather.
The final section is crucial. Although Gemini isn’t nearly as chatty as ChatGPT, what really sets it apart is how easily it can be integrated with Google Docs, Gmail, and Maps.
I requested that it compile the specifics of the Airbnb reservation into a concise list of bullet points, and it dutifully did so by pulling data from two distinct emails. I then instructed it to create a comprehensive email draft for my friends. When I ask AI to compose a text or email, the outcomes are usually too embarrassing to transmit to anyone. This one was fine, much to my surprise.
Although it may not seem like much, this is the first time AI has truly impressed me as a tool for task completion. I get tired of ChatGPT very soon; there are only so many times I can come up with ideas for vacation spots or business strategies for a retro arcade. Maybe this is just a sign of my lack of imagination. I really need assistance with the mountain of digital clutter I have to constantly navigate in order to go about my daily business.
Unfortunately, Gemini isn’t that thing just yet. There are currently a number of things I enjoy about it, and I believe it to be far more beneficial than the ordinary assistant. Every response it provides has a small G icon at the bottom that lets you conduct a Google search and verify Gemini’s claims. That’s kind of significant because AI occasionally has a tendency to invent things.
I also like having a place to store whatever Gemini comes up with for me, be it a packing list or a recipe. Answers from Gemini can be exported straight to Gmail or Google Docs. Until I copy and paste them elsewhere, the same kinds of things that I get from ChatGPT just feel like they’re floating around in space. It’s true that they’re saved in your history.
However, Gemini is not very good at interpreting context. I told it I was going to the next neighborhood over on my bike and asked it for recommendations on things to do when I got there. It spat out a wall of text with recommendations for things like going to the casino, doing scuba diving, and seeing live theater—I’m not kidding. All of those activities are technically possible in Burien, Washington, but not just at any time of day. Furthermore, I wouldn’t ride my bike up to them carelessly.
Gemini feels like a small “let me Google Maps that for you” machine in circumstances like this. In contrast, ChatGPT’s voice chat recommended that I go to a few parks or a coffee shop. It asked me whether I had any other plans for my visit, and when I mentioned that I might want to buy a book, it recommended a particular bookshop. So considerate! Later on, though, Gemini’s Google Maps connection proved to be more helpful: ChatGPT would have required me to wait for a bus that only comes every 30 minutes, but Gemini provided me with the correct path when I asked for one.
Gemini is like a page of Google search results when you converse with them. Google will answer you if you say, “Hey Google,” and ask it a question. You’re merely reading text if not. Additionally, there is frequently a lot of text; this assistant needs an editor. The fact that Gemini cannot access my calendar surprises me as well, but unlike Gmail and Docs, there isn’t an extension for it as of yet. I have to go back to using the standard assistant if I want to add something to my calendar. I’ll simply make a freaking calendar event myself at that point.
Ten years ago, smart assistants such as Siri and Alexa were hailed as the next big thing in gadget interaction. However, we’ve seen a plateau in their advancement across the board. Gemini is now only optional as a helper. However, given that Google has been reducing the capabilities of Assistant lately, it’s also simple to see how it can eventually take its position as the default. Perhaps the capabilities of non-AI voice assistants have just reached their limit.
I consider switching from Gemini to the standard Google Assistant to be a low-risk gamble. Voice assistants never seem to be able to perform what I want them to, so I’ve long since educated myself not to use them. Why not place a wager on something a little smarter to assist me with my daily tasks? Gemini can still set my timers and inform me if it’s going to rain. I hope it picks up some tips from ChatGPT along the road. I have to go to my scuba diving lesson in the interim.
