Google says the confusing Gemini Home rollout is going great

Google has started launching its new product Gemini voice assistant For smart speakers two weeks ago, and in a Blog post On the occasion of the anniversary, the company seems to think that everything is going well. He even quotes one user as saying: “My Google Home was just upgraded with Gemini. It’s actually useful now other than asking about today’s weather.” That’s some inaccurate shade there.

But dig In the post’s FAQAnd things don’t look so rosy. Two of the most frequently asked questions from those with the new Assistant are:

Controlling connected devices like lights and locks, and doing what you ask of it, are very basic requirements for a voice assistant at home. Gemini will be the new default voice assistant on all Google Home smart speakers and displays, so it really needs to do both of those things well.

The Gemini launch is part of a Gemini Home Repair from Google Home. This brings Gemini’s AI-powered intelligence to the Google Home app in a new form Ask the main chatbot interfacewhich lets you access the capabilities of the Google Home app using natural language text commands. And to Nest security cameras from Googlewhich enables them to do so Create descriptions of what they see And insert it into your smart home in the form of a Daily Home Brief.

New app and new camera capabilities It was submitted In early October for all usersdespite some features Requires subscription. However, to get the Gemini voice assistant, you have to go through a complex stage Early access registration process Which started on October 28th, and is completely separate from it Public inspection program. Then you wait.

In context Amazon with Alexa PlusS, Gemini poses Very slowly To smart speakers. No one in Edge He has so far, based on Google sub-home pageAnd it didn’t reach many other users either. Google has indicated that it will not be released to everyone until next spring at the earliest, when the new version will be released The Google Home smart speaker should arrive.

When Gemini arrives on your devices, it’s supposed to bring a brand new voice assistant to Google’s smart displays and smart speakers. Edge saw a Preview last month And hear more from a conversational assistant that can understand natural language and interpret context.

Google says the Gemini will also be better at controlling your smart home, partly because you won’t have to use specific syntax to get it to do what you want, and you can issue multiple commands at once. So, in theory, something like “Hey Google, turn on the lights, except in the bedroom, turn on the TV, close the front door, make it warmer in here” should work by now.

However, we were unable to test this, and some early comments on Reddit suggested that no commands were sequential It doesn’t work yet. The limited version of this feature was already part of Google Assistant. This means that Gemini may already be retrograde.

If you have Gemini on your smart speakers, we want to hear about your experience with it so far. Comment here or email me at jennifer.tuohy@theverge.com. If you’re not sure, just ask the speaker: “Ok Google, who are you?”

Overcoming obstacles using smart home control is likely one of the reasons why Gemini progresses slowly. As we saw from Alexa Plus rollout, Generative AI and the smart home are not easy bedfellows. The old Google Assistant and native Alexa were built on a command and control infrastructure: when this statement happens, do this.

New, AI-powered LLM assistants It doesn’t work the same way What gives these systems the ability to speak more and understand context also gives them more room for error. “LLMs are great at creativity, but they’re not very good at doing the same thing over and over again with the same expected results,” said Anish Kattukaran of Google Home. Edge In an interview.

It is clear that this is a challenge that both Amazon and Google are still trying to overcome. based on My test of Alexa Plus And with early indications of the capabilities of the Gemini voice assistant, there is still a long way to go before we can confidently leave our smart homes in the hands of this new generation of AI assistant.