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Gemini Intelligence Comes to Android

Gemini Intelligence Comes to Android

AI TechCrunch
Google's Gemini Intelligence brings autonomous task agents to Android that shop across apps, browse the web, and create widgets from natural language.
What: Google announced Gemini Intelligence at Android Show: I/O Edition on May 12, expanding agentic capabilities first introduced at the Samsung Galaxy S26 launch earlier this year (ordering food, booking rides). New features include cross-app task automation (copying grocery lists from notes to shopping carts with confirmation before checkout), auto-browse for booking appointments, Gemini in Chrome arriving late June for page summarization, Personal Intelligence form autofill (opt-in), Rambler dictation in Gboard that transcribes and formats speech by removing filler words, and natural language widget creation (example: 'Suggest three high-protein meal prep recipes every week'). Features roll out to Samsung Galaxy S26 and Google Pixel devices in summer 2026, expanding to other Android devices later in 2026.
Why it matters: Google is betting that the next phase of mobile AI is autonomous task execution embedded throughout the OS, not chatbots. This positions Android to compete with Apple Intelligence by making AI a background automation layer rather than a foreground assistant.
Deep dive
  • Google unveiled Gemini Intelligence at Android Show: I/O Edition with autonomous AI features that perform multi-step tasks across Android apps
  • Cross-app automation example: press power button, describe task like "copy my grocery list and add items to my shopping cart," Gemini completes it with confirmation before checkout
  • Auto-browse feature (experimentally introduced in January) now rolling out to Android for booking appointments and completing web-based tasks
  • Gemini in Chrome coming to Android in late June for page summarization and Q&A, matching desktop functionality
  • Personal Intelligence form autofill learns user details and fills forms automatically (opt-in, can be disabled in settings)
  • Rambler feature in Gboard uses multimodal AI for dictation that transcribes speech, removes filler words, and formats text
  • Natural language widget creation lets users build custom Android widgets by describing them (e.g., "Suggest three high-protein meal prep recipes every week")
  • Widget creation similar to tool released by hardware startup Nothing last year
  • All features follow Material 3 design language and launch first on Samsung Galaxy S26 and Google Pixel devices in summer 2026
  • Broader Android device rollout scheduled for later in 2026
Decoder
  • Agentic AI: AI systems that autonomously complete multi-step tasks across applications without constant user guidance, acting as agents on the user's behalf (e.g., booking appointments, managing shopping workflows).
  • Vibe-coding: Creating software, UI components, or widgets by describing them in natural language rather than writing code, named for specifying the desired "vibe" or characteristics you want.
Original article

Google announced a number of new Gemini Intelligence-branded AI features at its Android Show: I/O Edition event on Tuesday. These include the ability for AI to complete tasks across apps, browse the web, fill out forms, dictate speech, and even allow you to vibe-code your own Android widgets.

Gemini gets more powerful

The company had already introduced some agentic capabilities, such as ordering food or booking a ride, to Gemini at the Samsung Galaxy S26 launch earlier this year. There, Google announced that Gemini would soon be able to perform more complex tasks, like booking a front-row bike for a spin class, finding a class syllabus in Gmail, and then searching for books related to that topic.

Now Google's AI assistant will be able to handle a multistep process, like copying a grocery list from your notes app, then adding items to the cart in your shopping app. To use this feature, you'll press the phone's power button and describe the task. Meanwhile, the content on the phone's screen acts as the context for the assistant. Google noted that Gemini will wait for your final confirmation to complete the checkout.

In addition, a feature first introduced in January had allowed Gemini to browse the web for you and complete tasks like booking an appointment, as part of an experimental rollout. Today, Google said this auto-browse feature is making its way to Android, too.

In late June, Android devices will also get Gemini in Chrome, an AI feature that will help users summarize content or ask questions about what is on the web page, similar to how Gemini in Chrome works on the desktop.

Another small but useful addition is that Gemini will be able to fill out forms on your behalf after learning details about you through Personal Intelligence. (Google said this feature is opt-in, and you can turn it off via settings anytime.)

Plus, Gemini will come to Android's Gboard keyboard. Google is using Gemini's multimodal capabilities by introducing a feature called Rambler in Gboard, which is similar to those found in other AI-powered dictation apps. The feature will let you speak in your own tone, transcribe the speech, and format it by removing filler words.

Vibe-code your own Android widgets

Vibe-coding apps are picking up pace, and Google wants to give Android users a taste of this, too.

The company is introducing a way for users to build Android widgets by describing them in natural language. For example, users can build a meal-planning widget using query text like, "Suggest three high-protein meal prep recipes every week."

The idea of creating a widget is not novel to Gemini. Notably, the hardware startup Nothing also released a similar tool last year.

Google said that Gemini Intelligence will follow the company's Material 3 expressive design language in its features.

The company said that these AI-powered features will first make their way to the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices this summer and will be available across other Android devices later this year.

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