Google brings Gemini-powered AI chops to Gmail, Maps, Caller ID and more

With AI being the flavour of the season for a couple of years now, it was but obvious for Google to focus a large section of its this year’s I/O announcements on A.I. And that, it did. A.I., Google’s Gemini model in particular, dominated the proceedings at I/O 2024 thus far, and to bring you a nutshell of all exciting announcements, here’s a wrap of how it is getting even deeper integrations to the Google ecosystem, particularly Android.

Gmail gets even more of Gemini

First up, lets take up the uber-present Gmail. Gemini will now see an even deeper integration into Gmail. The world’s most used email service will now use AI to let you summarise emails, make the already present smart replies even more contexual, along with a host of new nifty add-ons that can be accessed through a single button the Gmail app. Here’s a quick run-down of each of these features:

• Summarize emails: With this feature, Gemini can analyze email threads and provide a summarized view directly in the Gmail app. Simply tap the summarize button at the top of your email thread to get the highlights. This will be available to Workspace Labs users this month, and to all Gemini for Workspace customers and Google One AI Premium subscribers next month.
• Contextual Smart Reply: A feature that is yet to be launched, Gemini in Gmail will offer even more detailed and nuanced suggested replies based on context from your email thread. With Contextual Smart Reply, you can edit or simply send as-is. This will be available to Workspace Labs users on mobile and web starting in July.
• Gmail Q&A: Soon when you click the new Gemini icon in the mobile app, Gemini in Gmail will offer helpful options, like “summarize this email,” “list the next steps” or “suggest a reply.” And similar to the side panel on desktop, you can use the open prompt box when you have more specific requests. For instance, you could ask Gemini to “find the quotations I received for 10 printers in the office” that’s buried somewhere in your inbox. Or maybe you don’t want to dig through your Drive for the document with details about your book club. Instead, you could just ask Gemini, “What are the discussion questions for my upcoming book club meeting?” Gmail Q&A will be available to Workspace Labs users on mobile and web starting in July.

Gemini for Maps API

Google is bringing Gemini to the Google Maps Platform for developers, starting with the Places API. This would now allow developers to show contexual summaries about places, whenever they are using the Places API in their applications. This could come in pretty handy in a variety of use cases, such as in mobility apps, giving users context of the destination they are putting in.

Another example could be if a developer has a restaurant-booking app. With this new capability, the developer can help users understand which restaurant is best for them. When users search for restaurants in the app, they’ll be able to quickly see all the most important information, like the house specialty, happy hour deals and the place’s vibes.

Spam detection powered by Gemini

Perhaps one of the most cheered and revered release would be Gemini’s integration into Android to detect spammers, fraudsters and fake calls. With cyber-theft cases at an all time high, and users still unable to find trustworthy ways around using apps such as Truecaller, Gemini will now help in spam detection.

The feature, which will be built into a future version of Android, utilizes Gemini Nano. Nano is the lightest version of Google’s Gemini Generative AI offering, which can be run entirely on-device. The system effectively listens for “conversation patterns commonly associated with scams” in-real time.

The feature however, like many others dependent on Gemini Nano, are yet to be released with no confirmation on release dates. Nevertheless, these announcements show how far AI has come, with serious, consumer-needed interventions coming in, that could potentially put Android on a better footing with iOS.

Keep an eye on our I/O coverage here, for more updates.