The Google Gemini app is getting a Google Home extension. This will allow you to use the AI assistant to interact with your smart home devices more conversationally. While you can already use a Google Nest device to issue voice commands, talking to Gemini feels more natural than the standard Google Assistant.
The extension is currently in the Google Home Public Preview program so you can try it out. It also means it'll be coming to the app for all users soon, as the Public Preview is the last place new features will go before they launch.
Before this update, you'd be bumped to the standard Google Assistant if you tried to use your smart home stuff with Gemini. It was a far less elegant solution than having smart home gadgets built right into the main app.
Google's AI supports lighting, climate control, window coverings, TVs, speakers, and other types of devices. Unfortunately, there's still a relatively extensive list of devices it can't control, so you'll still be thrown to the Google Home app if you ask Gemini to work with security devices, including garage doors, locks, cameras, gates and other kinds of doors.
Another important note is that the feature only works on Android phones and tablets — Apple users are left out in the cold (since they can't control their smart thermostats). It also works in English only.
If you want to try Gemini for Google Home, you must join the Public Preview program. Google offers a detailed guide with the required steps, and it's a painless process. Once in, you can read the Google support page about the Gemini extension to learn more about what it can and can't do.
Google also added a nifty WhatApp Gemini extension that lets you make calls and send messages. It also updated the AI with Gemini Extensions for Messages and the Phone app, both of which work like WhatsApp.
