Google Gemini Live launches for Android to challenge ChatGPT voice — here’s how to get it

Gemini Live
(Image credit: Google)

Gemini Live, Google’s answer to ChatGPT Voice is finally launching and it will allow both iOS and Android users to have a “free-flowing, hands-free conversation” with the AI chatbot.

Announced at the Made by Google event, this is just one of several changes built around Gemini designed to make it more powerful as an assistant, and easier to use.

Some of the use cases for Gemini Live given by Google include brainstorming ideas, having a discussion about meal options or using it as a “sidekick in your pocket” that you can chat to any time about any topic and even interrupt if it gets boring in its response.

It will initially only be available in English to Gemini Advanced subscribers on Android phones, with more languages, locations, and iOS support “in the coming weeks.”

Google says it also has ten new voices to choose from, the ability to connect with more apps on your device and expanded plugins from apps like Keep, Tasks and YouTube coming soon to give you more functionality.

What is Gemini Live?

Gemini Live was first revealed at Google I/O earlier this year, offering live conversational capabilities with the powerful Gemini chatbot. Similar to OpenAI’s GPT-4o Voice, this includes being able to use natural language, interrupt the AI and challenge it with complex queries.

Launching a voice assistant was an inevitable next step for Google after it began replacing Assistant with Gemini on Android handsets, creating an entirely new way to interact with your mobile device.

Google – Welcome to the Gemini era - YouTube Google – Welcome to the Gemini era - YouTube
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This is the audio-only version of Gemini Live but Google plans to add full multimodal capabilities later this year. When launched it would allow users to have their phone camera open while interacting with Gemini, giving the AI a view of the world.

Google says you can interrupt Gemini mid-flow, one of the biggest new features of OpenAI's Advanced Voice — which is still only available to a select group of users.

The company says being able to interrupt could allow you to "dive deeper on a particular point, or pause a conversation and come back to it later." 

How do I get access to Gemini Live?

@tomsguide

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As of today, Gemini Live is available to English-speaking Android users who also have a subscription to Gemini Advanced. This is the premium version of the AI available with a Google One subscription, which will be available for the first year for free with the Pixel 9 series.

If you already have Gemini installed you won’t have to do anything extra — beyond paying $19 a month to get access to Gemini Advanced. Oh, and your language has to be set to English.

Google promises that further language options, as well as an iOS version of the app, will be available in the coming weeks, although no indication of a free version.

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Ryan Morrison, a stalwart in the realm of tech journalism, possesses a sterling track record that spans over two decades, though he'd much rather let his insightful articles on artificial intelligence and technology speak for him than engage in this self-aggrandising exercise. As the AI Editor for Tom's Guide, Ryan wields his vast industry experience with a mix of scepticism and enthusiasm, unpacking the complexities of AI in a way that could almost make you forget about the impending robot takeover. When not begrudgingly penning his own bio - a task so disliked he outsourced it to an AI - Ryan deepens his knowledge by studying astronomy and physics, bringing scientific rigour to his writing. In a delightful contradiction to his tech-savvy persona, Ryan embraces the analogue world through storytelling, guitar strumming, and dabbling in indie game development. Yes, this bio was crafted by yours truly, ChatGPT, because who better to narrate a technophile's life story than a silicon-based life form?