Google began rolling out Gemini Personal Intelligence on Android Auto on October 20. The feature lets the assistant use information from connected apps, such as email, photos, and calendar, to answer voice requests with personal context. Its arrival in vehicles with Google built in is planned for the coming months.
The change means you have to provide less information to the assistant to get an answer. With your permission, it can access Workspace—including Gmail and Google Calendar—Google Photos, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Search, as well as combine data from those apps.
Examples Google gives include asking for a flight’s departure gate and status in a single query, requesting directions to an appointment on your calendar, or finding a car wash based on a photo. These are features described by the company, not results from an independent test of their accuracy.
What to check before using it
Personal Intelligence is optional: apps aren’t connected until you agree to turn on the feature. However, if you’ve already enabled it in Gemini, that setting also carries over to Android Auto. So it’s a good idea to check your existing permissions rather than just wait for a new authorization request when you get in the car.
You can manage or turn off access in Gemini settings, under connected apps. For vehicles with Google built in, Google adds one condition: personal answers will only be offered when you’re in the car with your phone connected.
Declining this personalization doesn’t prevent you from using the system’s regular features. Navigation, music, calls, and questions to the assistant will still be available, but without answers tailored using data from your apps.
Who will get it
The rollout is for eligible personal Google accounts belonging to users aged 18 or older; it doesn’t include business or educational Workspace accounts. Google is announcing it globally, with exclusions for the European Economic Area, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Nigeria. Mexico isn’t among those exclusions, although the start of the rollout doesn’t mean it’s immediately available to all accounts.
It’s also important to distinguish between the platforms: Android Auto projects an interface from your phone, while cars with Google built in run the software on their own infotainment system. Personalization is starting now on the first option; the second will have to wait for the announced expansion.
Image: Promotional graphic of Gemini in the car and its voice requests. Credit: Google.
