Gemini Live can now run multi-step tasks in the background, read out a morning summary and sort your Gmail by voice. Two of those four new features carry a subscription footnote in Google’s own announcement, and the two that do not carry a different cost: standing access to your Gmail, Photos, Search and YouTube activity.
Google’s framing of the update:
“Gemini Live is moving beyond conversation to handle complex tasks on your behalf. With new features like Personal Intelligence, Daily Brief, Spark, and hands-free inbox management, you can seamlessly talk through your day and delegate your to-dos without missing a beat.” — Google, announcing the Gemini Live update
What is new in Gemini Live, and what each one costs
- Spark — set up complex, multi-step tasks by voice that then run on their own across Google Docs, Sheets, Drive and the web, including long-running scheduled jobs that continue across days or weeks while you are not using the app. Google’s footnote: available with a Google AI Pro subscription or higher.
- Daily Brief — ask what’s my daily brief? and Gemini reads out a digest pulled from Gmail and Calendar. Google’s footnote: available with a Google AI Plus subscription or higher.
- Hands-free inbox — search, summarise, star, archive or delete Gmail messages by voice. No subscription footnote attached in Google’s post.
- Personal Intelligence — Gemini Live recalls past conversations and connects them to Gmail, Photos, Search and YouTube, so a question like what was the name of that restaurant we went to in New York last summer? resolves without you supplying context. No subscription footnote attached.
Google says 63% of Gemini users talk to it out loud, which is the stated reason for putting agentic features behind voice rather than text.
The part worth pausing on: Personal Intelligence
The two features Google does not put a subscription footnote on are also the two that ask for the most access. Hands-free inbox control needs Gmail. Personal Intelligence goes considerably further — Google’s own description is that it connects the dots across your past conversations and your Google apps including Gmail, Photos, Search and YouTube. That is not a feature you enable so much as a permission you grant, and Google’s post says you have to opt in by connecting your apps in Gemini’s Personal Intelligence settings.
Worth being blunt about the trade. A voice assistant that already knows what is in your inbox, what you photographed, what you searched and what you watched is genuinely more useful, and it is also a single conversational surface sitting on top of the most sensitive data Google holds about you. Before switching it on, it is worth opening the Personal Intelligence settings and choosing which apps to connect rather than accepting the default set — the granularity is there, and it is the only lever you get.
Availability
Google describes the update as rolling out today but its post does not give rollout regions, supported languages, or whether Android and iOS get it at the same time. The subscription requirements are the only availability detail stated: Spark needs Google AI Pro or higher, Daily Brief needs AI Plus or higher. If you are on the free tier, two of the four headline features are not for you.
To try the features that are, tap the Live icon in the Gemini app and start talking. If you would rather Gemini took up less space on your phone in general, we have covered the change that may finally let you hide its persistent status bar icon.
