dailynewsnblog
You might be feeling déjà vu.
A decade ago, companies like Google and Apple made promises that their respective voice assistants could complete tasks on your behalf. Apple said Siri could request an Uber—try it today, and Siri just opens the Uber app. Google claimed you’d be able to “Order my usual” at Starbucks with Google Assistant, but the experience was clunky, and Google eventually removed the feature.
But now, in the age of large language models and AI that understands natural language, we’re seeing the same promises back on the table. At Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event, Google and Samsung showed off how you’ll be able to use the Gemini voice assistant to complete tasks with a select number of third-party apps: book an Uber, or order food through Uber Eats, DoorDash, or Grubhub. (Expect more app support later this year when Android 17 arrives.)
The feature—still in early preview—will only be available in the US and South Korea to start, beginning with the Galaxy S26 smartphones when they launch on March 11, and later as a software update for the Google Pixel 10 series. Here’s how it works.
Step by Step
.jpg)
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
.jpg)
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Ask Gemini to “Get me an Uber to the airport,” and you’ll see it open the Uber app in a virtual window. Gemini will continue to run this action in the background, but you’re able to monitor what it’s doing by tapping on the live notification. You’ll be able to see the entire process, though the idea is that you’ll just let it run in the background while you focus on something more important.
If it needs more information, say if you’re in the New York tristate area and it’s unsure which of the three major airports you want to go to, it’ll come back to you and ask those questions. Once it’s done, you’ll get a notification, and you’ll be taken to the Uber app’s booking stage. Gemini won’t make the booking decision for you, so you’ll have to choose whether you want an UberX or UberXL, confirm the fare, and tap book.
“I refer to some of the tasks that you might want to have automated as sort of digital laundry—things that you know you need to do, but are not necessarily excited about finishing,” Sameer Samat, president of the Android Ecosystem at Google, tells WIRED.
