Google announced on Wednesday a new beta feature in the Gemini app that enables the AI assistant to tailor responses by connecting across the Google ecosystem. The feature starts with Gmail, Photos, Search, and YouTube history. Previously, Gemini could retrieve information from these apps. Now, it reasons across user data to deliver proactive results, such as linking an email thread to a watched video. Google states this allows Gemini to understand context without specific instructions on where to look.
The beta, named Personal Intelligence, is off by default. Users choose whether to connect their Google apps to Gemini. Once connected, Gemini activates Personal Intelligence only when it deems it helpful. Not all users want AI accessing their photos and YouTube history, Google acknowledges.
“Personal Intelligence has two core strengths: reasoning across complex sources and retrieving specific details from, say, an email or photo to answer your question,” wrote Josh Woodward, VP of the Gemini app, Google Labs, and AI Studio, in a blog post. “It often combines these, working across text, photos and video to provide uniquely tailored answers.”
Woodward described a scenario at a tire shop where he forgot his car’s tire size and license plate number. Gemini suggested all-weather tires after identifying family road trip photos in Google Photos. It also extracted the license plate number from a photo. Most AI chatbots can identify tire sizes generally, but Gemini provides personalized recommendations based on user data.
Woodward added: “I’ve also been getting excellent tips for books, shows, clothes and travel.” He highlighted recent assistance with spring break planning. Gemini analyzed family interests and past trips from Gmail and Photos. It avoided tourist traps and recommended an overnight train journey along with specific board games for the trip.
Google has implemented guardrails for sensitive topics. Gemini avoids proactive assumptions about data such as health information. It will discuss such data only if users ask. Additionally, Gemini does not train directly on users’ Gmail data.
