After an early tease this month, Google’s Gemini Live AI assistant is now available for free to all Android users. Gemini Live was initially limited to those who subscribed to the Gemini Advanced plan for $20 per month, but the voice assistant is now available to anyone who downloads the Gemini app. However, currently it is only available in English.
For users who own one of Google’s latest devices like the Pixel 9 or Pixel 9 Pro, accessing Gemini Live is as simple as launching the Gemini app and selecting the Live icon in the bottom right corner of the screen. Gemini Live has ten voices to choose from, and you can choose your favorite from the list of voices based on stars and constellations.
Gemini Live behaves in a manner familiar to those who have used Google Assistant or Alexa. The AI can understand informal language and behave in much more human-like ways during conversations. For example, it can speculate, help you brainstorm ideas, and even multitask by handling your requests while still having a conversation. The voice options add to the human illusion by being more emotionally expressive than the previous standard for speech.
Live is now available to all Gemini users in English on the Android app. We can’t wait for you to try it. https://t.co/jev4pnuZJ0September 30, 2024
The leading role of Gemini
The rollout of Gemini Live comes as Google faces a rapidly growing number of rivals in the space, including its advanced voice mode for ChatGPT and Microsoft’s recently revamped Copilot AI with voice interactions.
Like Microsoft, Google is clearly hoping that making Gemini Live free will help it stand out from the crowd. Integration with Google’s Android operating system and ecosystem of devices will likely help. But even then, Google has to deal with Apple’s upgrades to Siri as part of the suite of Apple Intelligence features the company will soon begin rolling out.
But if you’re frustrated by the limitations of current voice assistants, Gemini Live will feel like a significant upgrade. However, how Gemini Live fares against its many new competitors remains to be seen.
It’s clear that Google wants Gemini to be more than just Google Assistant. Expanding Gemini’s place in people’s lives, especially on mobile devices, is how the company hopes to win the current AI assistant war.