I've been an AI beat reporter for over three years, but lately, I've found myself at more device launch events than ever, because AI is now being infused into everything. After watching more features come and go than I can count, one of Samsung's latest actually intrigued me.
With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26, Samsung introduced a task automation feature in beta powered by Gemini. The way it works is simple: it doesn’t perform an action for you, but it does take the steps necessary, so all you have to do is approve it. To activate it, all you have to do is ask Gemini.
In my demo, all I said was “Call me an Uber to SFO in 15 minutes.” Then it got to work in the background, with a blue pill-shaped button labeled “View Progress,” which is, of course, optional, as the aim is for it to run in the background while you do other tasks.
When you click the button, you can watch it work in the sandbox environment, such as entering an address and selecting the vehicle type. Then it requires your final confirmation to act. Both the sandbox environment and final confirmation are to protect users from the agent going rogue.
This release marks the first time a truly agentic feature has shipped to customers in a consumer device, despite many attempts in the past, including the most notorious: the Rabbit R1 failure. At CES 2026, Motorola's 312 Labs showcased Project Maxwell, an AI-powered pin, as a mere proof of concept with no release timeline, and yet it worked the same way as Samsung's Gemini task automation feature.
During the Unpacked keynote, TM Roh, Samsung's President and CEO of the Device eXperience Division, called the Galaxy S26 lineup the first true "agentic AI phones." It's an ambitious label, but if this feature ships and works as promised, it may well be the clearest glimpse yet at what an agentic smartphone can do.
Our Deeper View
Also notable is that this is a Google feature, meaning its reach will extend far beyond the Galaxy S26 lineup. It's now also shipping to Google's own Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro, and with Google's partnership with Apple to power the new Siri, this capability could soon make its way to iPhones as well. That said, my confidence in the feature isn't high just yet, since every attempt to use it outside of the demo on the Galaxy S26 Ultra has fallen short. Still, this is a beta on day one, and it deserves the benefit of the doubt as the feature rolls out. I'll be putting it through its paces as I switch into the Galaxy S26 Ultra as my daily driver throughout this review, and I'll keep you updated. You can follow me on X/Twitter at x.com/sabrinaa_ortiz for updates in real-time.