Google is significantly upgrading its AI capabilities on Android, moving its Gemini model from a simple assistant to an active agent that can perform complex, multi-step tasks across different applications. Announced at its Android Show: I/O Edition event, the new features will allow Gemini to browse the web, complete forms, and even let users create their own widgets using natural language descriptions.
Quick Facts
- Gemini AI now completes multi-step tasks across apps.
- Users can “vibe-code” widgets with natural language.
- New features arrive on Samsung and Pixel this summer.
From Assistant to Agent
The update gives Gemini the ability to manage tasks that require actions in multiple apps. For instance, a user could ask Gemini to take a grocery list from a notes app and then add those items to the cart in a separate shopping application. The AI uses the on-screen content for context and will wait for user confirmation before finalizing actions like a checkout.
This builds on experimental features that allowed Gemini to browse the web to book appointments. That auto-browse function is now officially making its way to Android devices.
By late June, Gemini will also be integrated into the Chrome browser on Android, enabling users to get summaries or ask questions about the content of a webpage. Other additions include an opt-in feature for Gemini to autofill forms using personal details and the introduction of “Rambler” in Gboard, which uses AI to transcribe speech and clean up filler words.
Describe It, Build It: Vibe-Coding Comes to Android
Google is also tapping into the trend of “vibe-coding” by allowing users to create their own Android widgets by simply describing what they want. A user could, for example, generate a meal-planning widget by typing a query like, “Suggest three high-protein meal prep recipes every week.” This move follows similar tools from hardware companies like Nothing, indicating a broader industry shift towards personalized, AI-generated user interfaces.
The new features are scheduled to launch first on the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices this summer, with a wider rollout to other Android devices planned for later in the year.
The MENA Angle: A New Challenge for Regional Apps
For the MENA region’s vibrant startup ecosystem, these updates present both a challenge and an opportunity. With Android holding a dominant market share across the Middle East and North Africa, the introduction of agentic AI fundamentally changes the user-app relationship.
Founders of regional e-commerce, delivery, and service apps—from Noon and Talabat to Careem—will need to ensure their platforms are structured to work with Gemini’s new task-completion abilities. If a user asks their phone to “book me the cheapest flight from Riyadh to Cairo next Tuesday,” Gemini will need to be able to parse data from local travel apps. Developers who optimize for this new interaction layer could gain a significant advantage.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of these features will depend heavily on their ability to understand and process Arabic and its many dialects, a complex task that presents a major opportunity for startups specializing in regional NLP models and AI localization.
About Google
Google is a multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, a search engine, cloud computing, software, and hardware. It is considered one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft.
Source: TechCrunch
