Google is pushing its Gemini AI deeper into everyday mobile life with a trio of developments this week — expanding task automation to smartphones, launching conversational map features, and signaling openness to advertising in its AI products.
Gemini Arrives on Mobile with Task Automation
Starting this week, Samsung S26 Ultra and Google Pixel 10 users are getting access to Gemini task automation, a beta feature that allows the AI to interact with apps on their behalf. The rollout begins with food delivery and rideshare apps, enabling users to complete tasks like ordering dinner or booking airport rides from simple text or voice prompts.
The feature works through a virtual window, where Gemini can navigate apps to complete transactions without the user opening each application individually. Google partnered with Samsung for this launch, marking a significant expansion of Gemini's capabilities beyond simple Q&A into active task execution.
Ask Maps Brings Conversational Navigation
Also launching this week is Ask Maps, a new Google product that lets users ask questions about maps in natural language and receive immersive turn-by-turn guidance. Drivers can query complex route information, ask about points of interest along their path, or get real-time traffic explanations — all through conversational prompts rather than traditional search.
The feature represents Google's push to integrate generative AI directly into its most widely used products, transforming static mapping into an interactive assistant.
Ads Remain on the Table for Gemini
In a separate development, Google didn't rule out integrating advertisements into its Gemini AI product. In a WIRED interview, Nick Fox, Google's SVP of knowledge and information, discussed how generative AI might reshape the company's advertising model — a business that generated over $200 billion in revenue last year.
While Fox didn't announce specific ad plans for Gemini, his refusal to close the door signals that Google sees AI products as a potential new venue for its advertising engine. This raises questions about how ads might appear in AI-powered search and task completion — whether as sponsored recommendations within Gemini's responses or as integrated suggestions during automated tasks.
What This Means
Together, these developments show Google executing a strategy of putting Gemini everywhere: in users' pockets, in their cars, and potentially in their purchasing decisions. The task automation feature directly competes with Apple's AI initiatives and could reshape how people interact with mobile apps. Meanwhile, the open question of advertising in Gemini suggests Google is thinking carefully about how to monetize its massive AI investment without alienating users who've come to expect AI as a clean, ad-free experience in some contexts.