Like ChatGPT, Gemini can also extract something from your past conversations. But with Personal Intelligence, it can also block anything you do in the Google ecosystem – although you can selectively disconnect certain services and delete history as needed.
According to Google, Gemini is able to access your Gmail, Google Calendar, and the content of your Google Drive, as well as anything you’ve saved to Google Photos. Apart from the stuff you save, it can also parse the stuff you view. This includes YouTube viewing history, Google search history, and everything you’ve searched for through its Shopping, News, Maps, Google Flights, and Hotels services. With all that information, Google claims Gemini can “reason over complex sources” to “provide uniquely tailored answers.”
What does this look like in practice? Check out this anecdote from Josh Woodward, vice president of Gemini Apps, who shared his experience with Personal Intelligence in a blog post, without realizing how scary it sounds:
Since connecting my apps through Personal Intelligence, my daily life has become easier. For example, we needed new tires for our 2019 Honda minivan two weeks ago. While standing in line at the store, I realized I didn’t know the tire size. I asked Mithun. Any chatbot can find these tire specifications these days, but Gemini goes even further. It suggested different options: one for daily driving and another for all weather conditions, referencing our family road trips to Oklahoma in Google Photos. It then neatly pulled out the ratings and prices for each. As soon as I got to the counter, I needed our license plate. Instead of losing my place in line to find it or having to go back to the parking lot, I asked for Gemini. It pulled a seven-digit number from a photo in Photos and also helped me identify a specific trim of the van by searching on Gmail. Just like that we were set.
No need to go into the specifics of this example, but it’s not immediately obvious to me that making an uninformed decision based on a chatbot’s recommendation (let’s not pretend you’ve actually learned anything by getting some AI-generated answers) is a better outcome here than talking to a person who knows about cars and tires at the front desk. We all know we can just ask people anything, right? We don’t have to appear to know everything in front of everyone all the time.
Regardless, Google is at least aware that this whole process might freak people out a bit, even if it’s promising better recommendations, search results, and conversations. Personal Intelligence can be turned on and off, and users can choose which sources it draws from. Gemini will also “attempt” to contextualize or explain the information used from connected sources so that the user can verify it.
The company is also preparing its beta testers for some bumps in the road. In a blog post, it warned that users could face inaccurate responses or “over-personalization” where Gemini adds unrelated information. It also says that Gemini “may struggle with timing or nuance”, such as seeing a photo of a person and their ex and not realizing that they have broken up.
If you want to be Google’s guinea pig, Personal Intelligence is being made available to “eligible” Google AI Pro and AI Ultra customers in the US. The company also said that Personal Intelligence will become available in more countries and will reach Gemini’s free tier in the future, and will be available in AI mode in Search “soon”.
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