Ars Technica reports that Gemini’s Personal Intelligence feature is coming to cars. Before then, check which Google apps Gemini can read and what it saves. Answers you see privately on a phone could be spoken aloud on the road.
What is Gemini’s Personal Intelligence?
Personal Intelligence is Google’s name for a Gemini feature that can use information from other Google services linked to your account. Gemini normally answers from general knowledge. With this feature on, it can also look at the services you have connected, such as Gmail, Google Photos, YouTube history or past searches, and use what it finds to tailor its reply. That means a question about an upcoming booking, or about something from a past trip, could be answered from your own data rather than from the web. Google presents the feature as something you choose to switch on, and it lets you control which apps are linked. The list of supported services and regions has changed over time, so check what your own account currently shows rather than relying on older descriptions.
What does it mean for Personal Intelligence to come to cars?
Ars Technica reports that the feature is coming to cars. That means the same personalised answers could be available from Gemini in a vehicle, not only on a phone or computer. A driver could then ask spoken questions that depend on personal information, such as a detail from an email or a booking reference, while driving. Google has been bringing Gemini into vehicles through its car platforms, including Android Auto and cars with Google software built in. However, the information available here does not say which of these will get Personal Intelligence, in which countries, or when. If you see specific rollout details, wait for Google or your car maker to confirm them.
Why is it worth auditing Gemini settings now?
The source’s own advice is that now is a good time to review your Gemini settings, and the reason is simple. Settings you chose months ago for a chat window on your phone may not suit an assistant that answers out loud in a shared space. If Personal Intelligence is on and several apps are linked, Gemini in the car could bring up information from your email, photos or search history. Reviewing your settings before the feature reaches your vehicle lets you decide what the assistant can see. Otherwise you may only find out in the middle of a journey. An audit also tends to turn up connections you have forgotten, permissions you granted once to try a feature, and history settings still on their defaults.
Which Gemini settings should I check first?
Start with three areas:
- Personalisation. Check whether Personal Intelligence, or the equivalent option, is switched on for your account.
- Linked apps. Check which Google apps and services are connected to Gemini. Each one adds to what the assistant can draw on.
- Activity. Check the setting that controls whether your Gemini conversations are saved to your account, for how long, and whether they may be reviewed to improve Google’s products.
After that, look at the permissions on your phone itself, such as microphone, location and notification access for Gemini and your car apps. Menu names differ between Android, iOS and the web, and Google changes them from time to time. If a label does not match, search the settings for terms such as “connected apps”, “personal context” or “activity”.
How do I review which apps Gemini can read?
Open Gemini on the device you use most and go to its settings. Find the section that lists the apps or services connected to it. Each entry should show whether it is active, and you can usually switch each one off separately. Go through the list and ask yourself, for each app, whether you would be happy to hear information from it read aloud in a car. Email and photos need the most care, because they often contain addresses, travel plans, health details or pictures of other people. Disconnecting an app does not delete anything from that service; it only stops Gemini using it. Repeat the check on every other device signed in to the same account, because a change on one device may not carry over to the others.
What happens to the conversations I have with Gemini?
Gemini keeps a record of your conversations according to an activity setting on your Google account, usually labelled Gemini Apps Activity or something similar. Depending on that setting, chats may be stored for a set period, used to help improve Google’s services, and sometimes read by human reviewers. Google’s privacy notice for Gemini sets out the current terms. You can usually choose an auto-delete period, turn saving off, or delete past conversations yourself. Spoken questions in a car are still conversations, so the same choices will probably apply. The information available here does not say how in-car requests are recorded. If you change the setting, look at your activity page afterwards to confirm the change has taken effect.
Who else might hear Gemini’s answers in the car?
Only you see a phone screen, but everyone in the car can hear the speakers. Passengers such as children, colleagues or someone you are giving a lift may hear Gemini’s replies, and answers may also appear on the dashboard screen. That matters when personal information is involved. A casual question could get an answer that mentions a medical appointment, a message from a particular person or a private plan. The source does not say whether the car version will have safeguards, such as asking before it reads out personal content. Until that is known, either link only the apps you would be happy to have discussed in front of others, or avoid personal questions when you have passengers.
Does my car or my phone store the information?
That depends on how Gemini reaches your car, and the details for Personal Intelligence are not known. In general, phone-projection systems such as Android Auto run the assistant on your phone and show it on the car’s screen, so your account and data stay on the phone. Cars with Google software built in usually have their own sign-in on the car itself. This can mean your account stays signed in on the car even when your phone is not there. If your car has its own Google sign-in, find out how to view and remove signed-in accounts in the car’s settings. Also check the device list in your Google account to see whether the car appears there. For your particular model, the car maker’s manual is the most reliable guide.
What should I do if I share, sell or rent a car?
Shared cars need extra care. If family members or colleagues drive the same car, check whose Google account is signed in. If the system supports separate profiles, give each driver their own. On a shared profile, one person could ask aloud for information that belongs to another. Before you sell a car, return a lease or hand back a hire car, sign out of any Google account on it. Then use the manufacturer’s factory reset or data-wipe option, if there is one. You can also check the signed-in devices in your Google account and remove any you no longer control. When returning a rental car, make sure your phone is unpaired and your account signed out, or the next driver may be able to reach your data.
What is still unknown about Personal Intelligence in cars?
The information available here leaves several practical details open. It does not say:
- which car platforms or models will get the feature
- which countries and languages are included
- whether it needs a paid Gemini subscription
- whether there will be separate privacy controls for in-car use
- whether drivers will be asked before personal information is read aloud
- how in-car requests are recorded in your account activity
Watch for confirmation from Google and car manufacturers, and read the release notes for the Gemini app and your car’s software when updates arrive. Until then, the settings you control today give you the most reliable say over what the assistant can do: linked apps, activity history and device sign-ins.
Sources and further reading
- Ars Technica: technology news coverage reporting that Gemini’s Personal Intelligence feature is coming to cars, with advice to review Gemini settings
- Google: Gemini Apps privacy notice and help pages on connected apps and personalisation
- Google: account documentation on activity controls, auto-delete options and signed-in devices
- Vehicle manufacturers: owner’s manuals covering infotainment accounts, user profiles and factory reset procedures
Surfaced from the rss:arstechnica signal “AI assistant in cars”. AI-assisted draft, editorially reviewed.
