Google Rolls Out Gemini AI Offerings for the iPhone

Google has brought its Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) offering to the iPhone.

The company’s app now lets users access Google’s Gemini Live voice assistant as well as its premium image generator, Quartz reported Thursday (Nov. 14). Meanwhile, a new Extensions feature links Gemini with other Google services such as YouTube and Gmail in single conversations, the report added.

According to Google, users will need a personal Google account that they manage on their own, or a Google Workspace account that can access Gemini Apps and Google Assistant. The service is not open to work accounts that have Gemini Advanced or a school account, or to Google accounts managed by Family Link or “with a Google Workspace for Education account designated as under the age of 18.”

Google made Gemini Live free to all Android users in September after first making it available solely to Gemini Advanced subscribers a month earlier when it rolled out its new phone.

As the Quartz report noted, this launch escalates the competition between Google and Microsoft for dominance of the mobile AI space.

Microsoft’s Copilot aims to be an “AI companion for everyone,” as CEO of Microsoft AI, Mustafa Suleyman has put it, with Google’s Gemini takes a similar tactic by melding voice interaction and image generation capabilities. And both tech giants are scrambling to gain market share in anticipation of Apple’s own AI offerings.

As reported here Thursday, Apple’s upcoming AI-powered display, which could launch as soon as March of next year, has the potential to shake up the connected device market by giving the company its first central command center to funnel eCommerce and smart home purchases through its ecosystem.

The move may be a sign that Apple has a larger ambition to capture a greater share of the smart home market, as consumers look for centralized control of their connected devices and seamless ways to make purchases using voice commands and touchscreens.

“AI-equipped smart home devices could become powerful marketing tools through personal data analysis,” Szymon Markiewicz, operational product owner at tech firm Tietoevry, told PYMNTS. “Companies could customize offers and ads even more precisely to individual user needs, potentially boosting sales.”

Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has found that consumers are increasingly intertwined with their connected devices, multitasking throughout their days. Eighty-five percent of people are highly connected, with more than half using devices at breakfast, two-thirds during their commutes, and a similar number leveraging them while caring for others.