With Gemini Live, Google wants you to relax and have a natural chat with AI

It could help you prep for a job interview, or give pointers on a public speech.

Google

While Google and OpenAI have been racing to win the AI crown over the past year, we've seemingly reverted away from the idea of speaking to virtual assistants. Generative AI products have typically launched with text-only inputs, and only later add the ability to search images and basic voice commands. At Google I/O today, the company showed off Gemini Live, a new mobile experience for natural conversations with its AI.

Google offered up a few potential use cases; You could have a conversation with Gemini Live to help prepare for a job interview, where it could potentially ask you relevant questions around the positions. It could also give you public speaking tips if you want to research a speech. What makes Gemini Live unique is that you'll be able to speak at your own pace, or even interrupt its responses if you'd like. Ideally, it should be more like having a conversation with a person, instead of just voicing smart assistant commands or generative AI queries.

At I/O, Google also showed off Project Astra, a next-generation virtual assistant that takes the concept of Gemini Live even further. Astra is able to view your camera feed and answer questions in real-time. It's unclear how long that'll take to arrive, but Google says some of Astra's live video features will come to Gemini Live later this year. Gemini Live will be available for Gemini Advanced subscribers in the next few months.

Catch up on all the news from Google I/O 2024 right here!