oogle wants Gemini to be everything a user could want. So now, it’s getting personal.

Days after announcing its deal to power Apple’s next-generation version of Siri, Google announced Gemini Personal Intelligence, a product that draws on your context from across its ecosystem of apps to customize responses in its flagship chatbot. Currently, Personal Intelligence is only available to paid users on their AI Pro and Ultra plans, and will connect with Gmail, Photos, YouTube and Search.

To use Personal Intelligence, users must opt in and can decide exactly which apps they’d like to connect. The feature can also be turned off at any point.

• Google noted in a press release that a “key differentiator” is that the data already exists within its systems, meaning “You don't have to send sensitive data elsewhere to start personalizing your experience.”
• Addressing training, Google said that Gemini does not train directly on your inbox or photo library, but rather uses “limited info” such as your prompts and responses.
• The company also said it has guardrails around certain topics and that Personal Intelligence will avoid making “proactive assumptions” about sensitive data, such as health.

To really customize Personal Intelligence, Google may need users’ help. The company noted in its announcement that this system might try so hard to be right that it ends up wrong, generating inaccurate responses and making unrelated connections due to “over-personalization.” All that Google asks is that you give those responses a “thumbs down.”

Personal Intelligence is the latest attempt by an AI firm to make its tech more useful to customers. Context and nuance are key to making AI that people actually want to use. With billions of users already using its products for work, pleasure, and everything in between, the opportunity is ripe for Google to use that leverage to get ahead.