Google Just Took Another Step Toward the AI-First Smartphone

After years of sprinkling AI into its mobile products, Google’s fully leaning in.

The company is integrating Gemini more deeply into Android, allowing its AI assistant to manage a wider range of everyday tasks across apps — a move that could fundamentally reshape how people interact with their phones.

Rather than you having to bounce between apps for routine tasks like filling out forms, scheduling appointments and making reservations, Gemini will soon be able to handle it all for you. Google wants this upgraded capability, called Gemini Intelligence (not to be confused with Apple Intelligence), to feel like a true assistant — one that proactively does its job without needing constant instruction.

“The difference between the technology of yesterday and the technology of Gemini Intelligence is that it’s there with you,” Ben Greenwood, a director and product manager for Android Core Experiences, told me in an interview. “I really just want one assistant that I’m working with who understands me and knows me personally. Having that experience [be] consistent across the products I’m using is really important to build trust and ease of use.”

Google shared the AI updates during its Android Show presentation on Tuesday. Gemini Intelligence will carry out routine actions like creating a shopping order from the grocery list in your notes app. It can autofill complex forms using information stored in connected apps such as Google Drive, like your driver’s license or passport number. You can snap a picture of a brochure and ask Gemini to find a tour for a group of six. It can even generate custom widgets based on a simple prompt, such as displaying the temperature in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. You can read CNET’s more detailed breakdown of what’s coming to Android here.

These capabilities add to the handful of Gemini-powered tasks that arrived on Pixel 10 and Samsung Galaxy S26 handsets earlier this year. Gemini Intelligence will also work on Android Auto, Wear OS and Google’s smart glasses for a unified experience across devices. 

Gemini Intelligence will first come to Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones later this summer. Google didn’t specify which upcoming Galaxy devices will be compatible, but Samsung is expected to unveil the next generation of its foldables in the coming months. Google is also set to debut new Pixel phones in the summer. 

Bringing Gemini Intelligence to premium Android devices could give Google an edge over competitors like Apple, which has yet to bring a more intuitive and helpful Siri to the iPhone — though Google’s Gemini models will soon help to power that update as well. 

Android’s AI-centric shift likely spells the beginning of what’s to come for the wider industry. 

A glimpse of the AI-first smartphone future

For years, tech companies have pointed to a future in which AI will fundamentally transform the way we use our phones. As digital assistants become more capable, they could soon tackle more of the everyday grunt work. 

Some experts have even predicted that AI will replace the apps on our phones entirely, supplanted by interactive, generative AI platforms that respond to our every command. Why juggle siloed apps for playing music, hailing a ride and sending messages if a virtual assistant can take care of all of that and more?

Signs of that transition are beginning to emerge, with reports that OpenAI may be developing its own AI-powered smartphone. If all goes to plan, the company could begin mass production in the first half of next year. Amazon is also reportedly eyeing a reentry into the smartphone market, this time with a handset focused on AI features rather than traditional apps.

“Users are not trying to use a pile of apps,” industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a report on the OpenAI news last month. “They are trying to get tasks done and fulfill needs through the phone. This fundamentally changes how people think about smartphones.” 

Gemini Intelligence on Android doesn’t go as far as eliminating apps on your phone — at least not yet. But it is designed to curb the amount of time you spend manually completing individual tasks. Google hopes that even people who are weary of the constant stream of AI features will be enticed to try Gemini Intelligence. 

“We’re all a little fatigued of the ‘Times Square-AI’ kind of experience,” Greenwood said, nodding to the growing exhaustion surrounding splashy AI announcements. “How the team has approached this has been to look at, what are real problems that people have and encounter, and how can we help?”

He points to a Gemini Intelligence feature called Rambler as an example. On Gboard, Google’s Android keyboard, the speech-to-text tool can now filter out self-corrections, repetitions and filler words. For example, if you’re texting someone a grocery list and say, “Can you get toast, cereal and bananas — actually no bananas,” it’ll only jot down the toast and cereal. Rambler can also tap into Gemini’s multilingual model to switch between languages within a single message — catering to those of us who often mix languages as we speak. 

“You’re not trying to teach a new behavior,” Greenwood notes. People who already use the microphone function on their keyboard might not have to think about how AI is optimizing the experience. Autofill is another example of AI quietly handling a task like filling out forms without commanding much attention. 

Ultimately, it’s about getting more things done automatically, without having to spell out what you want. The bigger question is how comfortable people are with letting Google’s AI take the wheel a little more often. Either way, the broader shift toward AI-driven smartphones is seemingly well underway.