The current generation of mobile voice assistants — with our simple requests often requiring multiple tries to understand — certainly has room for improvement. If you’re ready for an upgraded experience, voice assistants powered by AI generated may be the solution and there are several solutions you can try today.
On Tuesday at Powered by GoogleGoogle finally release Gemini Live, an advanced mobile conversation experience that lets users chat freely with an AI assistant or — as Google describes it — “a companion in your pocket.”
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The Live experience is supposed to simulate a conversation with a human, so it can be interrupted, continued in multiple turns, and even resume a previous conversation.
Users can also continue to talk to it in the background or while their phone is locked, just like a regular phone call with a friend or family member. There are 10 voices that users can choose from, all of which sound like human voices with different intonations, sounds, and more. You can listen to the video below:
We’re introducing Gemini Live, a more natural way to interact with Gemini. Now you can chat freely, even interrupt or change the subject just like you would on a regular phone call. For Gemini Advanced subscribers. #Made by Google pic.twitter.com/eNjlNKubsv
— Google (@Google) August 13, 2024
Sounds too good to be true? If you want to try it for yourself, you can — for free!
How to access
Gemini Live is rolling out to Android users registered with Gemini Advanced, offered as part of Google One AI Premium Package costs $20/month. If you’re an iPhone user, don’t worry, Google says Gemini Live will expand to iOS in the coming weeks.
It costs $20 a month — on par with other premium AI plans like ChatGPT Plus And Claude professional — includes other perks in addition to Gemini Advanced, like Gemini in Gmail and Docs, 2TB of storage, and unlimited Magic Editor in Google Photos. However, if you want to try it before you buy, there are two ways you can get a free trial.
The first (and easiest) way to try Gemini Live for free is to get a free one-month trial of the Google One AI Premium plan.
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To get started, visit the Google One AI Premium Plan websiteClick “Try it for a month” and log in.
You’ll be asked to enter your payment information because — once your trial ends — you’ll start being charged. To avoid paying, I recommend setting a reminder on your phone to end your subscription before your trial ends.
If you’re invested in Google’s AI services and want the full experience, the second option is to buy the newly launched Pixel Pro 9, which includes access to Gemini Advanced at no extra cost for the first year, worth $240.
OpenAI offers a similar experience with its new and improved product Voice mode. However, this feature is currently rolling out in alpha to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users, so if you want a guaranteed way to access this experience, the Google One AI Premium Plan is probably your best bet — at least for now.
