The 5 things Google should improve on Gemini to make it the ultimate smart assistant

The last two years have been absolutely crazy in terms of creating projects related to artificial intelligence. The OpenAI chatbot kicked off, and now its AI-based search engine arrives in Spain. Between both events we have seen launches of new companies and, above all, a race between the industry giants not to be left behind.

But it seems that results take longer than we would expect. Alexa was supposed to have a paid version that would use AI, but a year after its presentation it has not yet been seen outside its laboratories. Google has also made several lurches, with the creation of Bard first and Gemini later.

The latter seems to be the definitive assistantwith a brand recognizable to the general public, who will replace his previous assistant, one who did not function badly, but who lacked charisma. We have even seen what the new activation commands will be like. But he still has a lot to improve.

Connected Apps

The second problem is more important. Connecting Gemini with other applications is done through extensions. This new setting allows you to decide what the assistant has access to from our phone. The problem is that There are still many applications that cannot be controlled from the same.

Making a shopping list has been a problem for months because the integration with Google Keep was not present. Opening Spotify and listening to music has been another inconvenience for many users for a long time. It is true that the company still gives the option to use the old Google Assistant on smartphones, but it is rare that we have Gemini available, but unfinished.

Higher speed

Using the Google Assistant is tedious if we know how Alexa works. The speed of execution of Amazon assistant tasks is much faster than in the chaos of Google. And the problem is that this has not been improved with Gemini. Perhaps it is because of how the interconnection protocols with the servers have been designed.

For routine tasks we may think that it does not matter if it takes two seconds to turn on a light instead of one, but if many commands are used that feeling of slowness permeates, and makes the Amazon has a good sales pitch that Google lacks. The same thing happens with the response from a speaker to which we have not spoken if we have several. You should always respond from the one closest to you.

Use in smart speakers

And speaking of smart speakers, Google should get its act together to provide artificial intelligence to your smart speakers and screens. Surely this will end up being part of one of the more expensive paid versions of Google One, and we will not have Gemini on all speakers by default, but it is still strange that we still cannot use the new assistant beyond mobile phones and tablets.

What’s more, it could be a differentiating sales argument with respect to Amazon, which is somewhat behind in this aspect, apparently due to the problems of its new version of Alexa with AI with home automation control of the homewhich is one of the star functions. Either way, hardware shouldn’t be a limiting factor, as Gemini doesn’t run on speakers, but rather on Google servers.

Integration with Gemini Live

Google’s competition in the field of voice assistants is great. There’s Alexa, from Amazon, and also ChatGPT, which has a very advanced voice option. Even Samsung seems to be bringing the new Bixby to Spain. But there is a function that is very surprising in Gemini and that, although it can be used in our country, few people know about it: Gemini Live.

This conversational mode of the assistant allows you to talk without having to continually use the activation commandand even allows us to interrupt without forcing us to start again. Having something like this integrated by default instead of activating a separate mode would be a notable improvement. But it is equally important that people are aware that they can use it.

One of Gemini’s biggest flaws is its lack of advertising. Google doesn’t brag about what it can do, and there are many people who didn’t use the voice assistant and now don’t use Gemini. A simple gesture like having the search widget button activate Gemini instead of voice search could catapult the use of the new Google assistant, which we assume is what the company is looking for.

More voices

So that the new assistant is a key element in people’s daily lives Google could offer more than the two voices it has now available. This would allow each user to have an interaction with the voices that they liked the most, relaxed or encouraged. It is something that it has in the Live version but not at a global level.

It would even be viable to create these new voices with artificial intelligenceor monetize them, as video game developers do with aesthetic elements. The voice change could be a paid option, because it would not force the user to check out, but it would allow them to do so in exchange for having a more personalized experience.

And even if extensive customization with a dozen voices is not allowed, you have to be careful when changing one. Currently the voice of smart assistants is really flat. It seems to have been recorded by Raúl Llorens, Chris Evans’ voice actor, playing a character who is being mentally controlled. In a device in which the only method of input and output of information is the voice, more care must be taken.