Gemini's AI will soon slide into your DMs on WhatsApp and Messages

(Image credit: Google)

Google's Gemini artificial intelligence assistant will soon be able to say "hey" directly to you through your messaging apps and notifications, according to code uncovered by Android Authority. The upcoming extensions for Gemini will continue to broaden the options for connecting the Gemini AI to existing services beyond the initial options of Google Flights, Hotels, Maps, Workspace, YouTube, and YouTube Music.

Extensions are a way to provide Gemini with access to your real-time personal data and improve its response to requests. The code points to that list, adding not only the first-party texting tool Google Messages but also the third-party WhatsApp. Clearly, Google doesn't plan on keeping Gemini to itself.

The Google Messages extension will apparently let you read and reply to messages using voice commands with Gemini. That's not too dissimilar to what Google Assistant could do, though presumably with the same flexibility in language and phrasing provided by Gemini. The WhatsApp extension will include the same features but will be bolstered by the option to make a call through the app by asking Gemini.

The last new extension dug up in the code is for Android notifications. It appears to be able to make notifications much more than the list you see on screen. Gemini might be able to organize the notifications based on what it has learned is important to you and even summarize what you've missed if there are a lot of them or if the alerts are related in some way. It would make Gemini notably more proactive as an aide than Google Assistant,

Gemini Jumpstart

As Google keeps upping the ante for what Gemini can do, it's worth noting how much pressure the company faces from what looks to be a tsunami of upgrades for its biggest rivals. Apple is expected to introduce new Apple Intelligence features for Siri to debut with the iPhone 16 series this year and Amazon's plans for an AI update for Alexa have already been mostly spoiled.

Google wants people to rely on Gemini as more than just a toy or reinvention of Google Assistant, they want it to be part of your life in every way possible. Incorporating WhatsApp and its huge number of users worldwide makes a lot of sense in that reckoning. But if Gemini is really going to be the star of the AI assistants, Google will likely face a two-front battle. There's the mobile and voice AI competition against the likes of Apple and Amazon, as well as the more online-focused fight to scoop up the same users that OpenAI, Microsoft, and independent AI services are pursuing.

Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for TechRadar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He's since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he's continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City.