Bizarre Gemini to Google Assistant swapping bug is driving Android Auto users mad

For the last handful of months, Google has been rolling out Gemini to Android Auto (AA). The AI upgrade has received mixed reviews since the rollout began. If you’re one of the users who wished you could go back to Google Assistant, you may actually like this new bug affecting the platform.

Some AA users claim that Gemini suddenly disappeared and was replaced by the old Google Assistant. On Reddit, there are multiple reports of the issue. We can also confirm that one of our writers has also experienced this bug. While some claim they are unable to switch back, others say that the issue was only temporary.

Over on the Android Auto community forums (via PiunikaWeb), one user points out that Gemini integration was working just fine until updating to AA version 16.7. After this update, the system reverted back to Google Assistant. Despite clearing the cache for the AA and Google apps, toggling the digital assistant settings, and restarting both their phone and the car’s head unit, the old Assistant interface continues to trigger.

Although users are pointing to version 16.7 as the culprit, that may not be the case. One user in the forum claims that they ran into the bug while on version 16.6.661414.

Fortunately, it appears that the team has been made aware of the situation. A Google community specialist has responded with the following statement:

Thanks for reporting this issue. We’ve forwarded your issue to the rest of the team. We’ve also reached out to you via e-mail for further assistance, please reply back to the same email.

If you’re also experiencing this problem, there appears to be a solution that has worked for some. This workaround involves going to your AA settings, navigating to the digital assistant section, switching from Gemini to Assistant, and then toggling back to Gemini.