How to add extensions to Gemini

I was driving location the different time and wanted to telephone my spouse and fto him cognize that I was stuck successful traffic. (Not an antithetic lawsuit connected Brooklyn’s Belt Parkway.) I’ve got a comparatively aged car (it’s a 2007 model, truthful we’re talking nary existent smarts), and truthful I beryllium connected my telephone alternatively than immoderate built-in quality to woody with calls, music, etc. Usually, there’s nary problem, but this time, erstwhile I called out, “Hey Google — telephone Jim connected his mobile!” my telephone informed maine — successful a precise long-winded paragraph — that Gemini doesn’t bash that:

Oh, right. Gemini.

I had precocious installed Google’s caller AI virtual adjunct to effort it out. This meant that Google Assistant, the accustomed voice-activated service, had been automatically unopen down, and that Gemini, which is marque caller and not truly afloat baked, was inactive missing a batch of the usability of Google Assistant — including, overmuch to my irritation, making telephone calls and sending texts.

However, determination is simply a workaround — oregon rather, a mode to summation Gemini’s features. You request to adhd extensions, successful the aforesaid mode that you would adhd them to, say, Google Chrome. In fact, if I hadn’t been driving and could person work the further substance connected the page, I would person discovered my main problem: I hadn’t turned connected Gemini Apps Activity, which logs and stores each your Gemini activity. Without Apps Activity turned on, extensions don’t work.

So you’ve got a choice: fto your enactment beryllium logged oregon usage a constricted mentation of Gemini.

Turn connected Apps Activity

Assuming you privation to effort a fewer extensions, determination are a mates of ways to alteration Gemini Apps Activity:

When you prime the Turn on button, you are archetypal brought to a agelong acceptable of instructions astir what is saved (such arsenic your chats, merchandise usage information, and location), for however agelong (18 months, though that tin beryllium switched to 3 oregon 36 months), and for what (the accustomed firm “to provide, improve, and make Google products”). Got it? Still good with it? Select Turn on.

Now you tin entree Gemini’s extensions. You’ve got 2 choices: you tin inquire Gemini to bash something, and if there’s an hold to help, it volition (according to Google) automatically entree it. Or you tin browse the disposable extensions by going to gemini.google.com (via the web) oregon tapping your idiosyncratic icon (on the mobile app). Select Settings > Extensions.

Try retired extensions

Once I had enabled Apps Activity, I wanted to spot what would hap if I conscionable asked Gemini to bash thing without manually enabling an extension. So erstwhile again, I tried to usage it to telephone someone. This clip (somewhat to my surprise), it worked — it instantly moved to my Phone app, showed the close contact, and made the call.

I adjacent went to browse immoderate of the different disposable extensions by tapping connected my mobile app’s idiosyncratic icon and past connected Extensions. There were respective listed (interestingly, I saw much connected my telephone app than connected the web). They included:

By the clip you work this, determination whitethorn beryllium others.

Deleting your activity

If you would alternatively not marque each your Gemini enactment permanently available, here’s the deal: according to Google, chats are saved for up to 72 hours, whether oregon not Apps Activity is enabled. However, if Apps Activity is enabled, determination are ways to delete your activity.

Eventually, with immoderate luck, Gemini volition beryllium susceptible of each the utile features of Google Assistant. How good it tin execute its assorted AI functions — and however overmuch information is utilized to thatch that AI — is, of course, an ongoing tale.