Gemini for Google Home Gets Smart Display Improvements and More

Gemini for Home–the version of Gemini being built for Google Home–just keeps getting better. And today, Google announced yet another set of updates that improve smart displays, alarms and timers, the Google Home app, and more.

These updates are coming in hot-Google issued other Gemini for Home updates recently, on May 5 and April 28, for example–but here’s what’s new.

Gemini for Home voice assistant improvements on smart displays. Gemini for Home voice assistant is available now in early access, and if you have a Google Home-compatible smart display, Google has created a faster new way to provide feedback: Now, thumbs-up and thumbs-down buttons will appear on-screen after each voice interaction and you can tap either to help Google figure out where it needs to make improvements.

Faster and smarter interactions. Gemini will now leverage the information in Ask Home, a Google Home Premium feature that lets customers control their home through Google Home, when you ask questions about a camera, smart speakers, or displays. For example, if you tell Google Home “our nanny’s name is Alice,” it will handle camera history searches more seamlessly and search for faces like those you tagged as Alice.

Home Brief. Gemini for Home will provide a recap of what happened in your home while away when you ask for your Home Brief on a speaker or display. You can also ask more specific questions like “When did the nanny come home?”, “Where is my wife’s car?”, or “Turn on the living room lights.”

Alarms and timers improvements. Setting an alarm or timer is now quicker, with reduced wait times and less of a need to repeat yourself.

Improved Answers. Google updated its Gemini for Home safeguards to provide more helpful content for adult users. It will now provide adults with improved availability for general queries, including recipes for age-gated beverages, while maintaining its protections against age-inappropriate content for younger users.

Improved onboarding. You can ask Gemini for Home for help getting started now, and it will provide clear suggestions tailored to your needs and help you discover new ways to interact with it.

Google Home app improvements. Google Home app version 4.16 and higher now offer one-tap temperature overrides and up-to-date schedule advice for Nest Thermostats, more controls for Nest Thermostats on iPhone, and a new device setup experience that uses a QR code scanner with a simpler setup process.