Google's latest AI Gemini, a master of conversation and identification, has been around for many months now, so I've been expecting this move for a while, but now it's official: The humble Google Assistant is going away from good, replaced by Gemini's updated efforts. But what about our Nest speakers, smart displays and the Google Home app? Are you going to have to get used to a new voice assistant in your home, too?.
"Over the coming months, we're upgrading more users on mobile devices from Google Assistant to Gemini; and later this year, the classic Google Assistant will no longer be accessible on most mobile devices or available for new downloads on mobile app stores," Google reported in its blog update.
That's quite clear for phone users. What happens to our smart homes in 2025 is less certain, but Google has dropped several important clues. Here's what to expect.
A smart home truce, for now
Your Nest devices probably won't change much this year, but big changes are on the way.
First, if you didn't know, you can already use Gemini on Google Home for more complex searching tasks, while Google links up bits of the AI to help make Google Assistant more accurate Nest devices. So the voice assistant and the AI already live in the same space on at least one Google platform. That seems to be the direction Google is taking for all its Nest and home technology for now.
While cars, tables, headphones and watches are all getting the permanent change to Gemini, Google is hedging a bit with the smart home. The company reports: "We're also bringing a new experience, powered by Gemini, to home devices like speakers, displays and TVs. We look forward to sharing more details with you in the next few months. Until then, Google Assistant will continue to operate on these devices."
It sounds like Google's home plans are still in development, but the switchover is coming in time. And there are good reasons for that. Gemini on phones exists primarily within Google's own ecosystem, tapping into Google's search engine, photo app, etc. But in the smart home world, Gemini must communicate with all kinds of other platforms and devices. The Matter standard makes that a bit easier, but it's still a lot of work.
Google Nest must also consider its approach to smart home brand partnerships. Many of these supported brands have used the "works with Google Assistant/Google Home" language for years. Switching over to the "Google Gemini" language means rewriting a lot of marketing and product specifications, among other details. That introduces complications and raises the risk of confusing customers, another reason this step may take plenty of extra time.
A rebrand, if you can keep it
Gemini's role in the smart is more complicated thanks to necessary third-party integraitons.
Google talks about how people have "made the switch" to Gemini, but for the average person, the biggest difference will be how the response sounds: You may even keep using the same wake word, although those details aren't finalized.
In the smart home, we'll likely use Gemini the same way we used Google Assistant, except it will hopefully be more precise in its answers and able to make more suggestions about home management. While many AI integrations may be behind the scenes, the average homeowner will see this more as a rebrand than anything else.
The big question is if it's a rebrand worth getting excited about. We've had some troubles using Google Assistant for smart home control in the past year compared with voice assistants like Alexa or Apple's Siri. While Gemini has improved, it's still far from flawless, and if most people's encounters with Google AI are through flawed search result overviews, they may be hesitant to accept the change.
Another question is about privacy. As Amazon's recent privacy removals from the upcoming Alexa Plus launch show, these new AI voice assistants can be more casual with our personal data, making people uneasy. Gemini needs to be careful about how much of our home data it hoovers up versus the utility it provides.
To check out more, see our guide to how AI works in home security, how Gemini is turning your essays into AI-voiced podcasts and how Gemini is already getting a little invasive by using your search history data to personalize your Google search answers.Â