Google's Gemini: Your AI, Your Way with New Personalization Features

The AI chatbot landscape is heating up, and Google's taking a unique approach to stand out. Their strategy? Personalization. Google just announced "Gemini with personalization," an experimental feature designed to make its Gemini chatbot apps feel less like a tool and more like an extension of yourself. Imagine an AI that anticipates your needs and delivers truly personalized assistance – that's the goal here.

What's the big deal with personalization?

Think about it: we all have unique internet habits and preferences. Gemini with personalization taps into your activities across Google's ecosystem to give you tailored answers. According to Google, early testers have found it particularly useful for brainstorming and getting personalized recommendations.

How does it work?

Initially, Gemini with personalization will integrate with Google Search, later expanding to other Google services like Google Photos and YouTube. This feature is powered by Google’s experimental Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental AI model, a "reasoning" model that decides whether your personal data (like your Search history) will actually improve an answer.

Examples of Personalized AI in Action

Dave Citron, Gemini product director, highlights how this works. Ask Gemini for restaurant recommendations, and it'll consider your recent food-related searches. Looking for travel advice? It'll base its suggestions on destinations you've previously searched.

Privacy Concerns? Google Says They're on It

Naturally, the idea of an AI using your personal data raises privacy concerns. Google is making Gemini with personalization opt-in and excluding users under 18. You'll need to grant permission before Gemini connects to your Search history and other apps, and the bot will clearly show which data sources it used to customize its responses.

There will be a banner to easily disconnect your Search history. Gemini will only access your Search history if you’ve selected the personalization feature, given permission, and have "Web & App Activity" turned on in your Google account.

Availability and Future Plans

Gemini with personalization is rolling out to Gemini users on the web, excluding Google Workspace and Google for Education customers for now. It'll gradually come to mobile, and will be available in over 40 languages in most countries, except for the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the U.K. Google also hints that future usage limits may apply, suggesting the feature might not be free forever.

More Gemini Goodies: Updated Models, Research Capabilities, and App Connectors

To further entice users, Google's also announced updates to Gemini's models, research capabilities, and app connectors. Subscribers to Gemini Advanced, the $20-per-month premium subscription, now have access to a standalone version of Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental that supports file attachments, integrations with apps like Google Calendar, Notes, and Tasks, and a massive 1-million-token context window (around 750,000 words!).

Deep Research Gets Deeper

Google is enhancing Deep Research, its feature that compiles reports on a subject by searching the web. It now shows its "thinking" steps and uses 2.0 Flash Thinking Experimental as the default model, leading to more detailed and insightful reports. Deep Research is now free for all Gemini users, and usage limits have increased for Gemini Advanced subscribers.

Gems and Google Photos Integration

Free Gemini users are getting Gems, Google’s topic-focused customizable chatbots. And soon, all Gemini users will be able to interact with Google Photos to find photos from specific trips, for example.