When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. I switched to Gemini for Home. Here's the Google Assistant feature I miss You'll need to pay up to get this key Google Assistant feature back. I recently made the switch to Gemini on my Google smart speakers and displays, and for the most part, I'm liking it. Gemini is chatty without being a blabbermouth, and it capably controls my smart home while also delivering detailed weather reports and answers to my other queries.

From game-changing text diffusion models and cutting-edge AR glasses to AI videos with sound and virtual clothing try-ons, there was plenty of amazing tech to see during Google's I/O keynote on Tuesday. The closest we got to a smart home shout-out was when a Google exec said that Gemini--the star of the show--is "coming to your watch, your car dashboard, even your TV." As Google puts its Google TV Streamer under the umbrella of smart home, we'll count that as a fleeting reference. Officially, Google has promised that Gemini is coming to Nest devices. Gemini on Nest speakers has been available on a public-preview basis for months now, and back in March, Google confirmed that a "new experience powered by Gemini" is coming to smart speakers and displays.

Time is running out for Google Assistant as Gemini prepares to take its place on mobile and--eventually--smart devices. Now Google is announcing another round of features that Google Assistant is soon to lose. None of the about-to-be-yanked features are all that critical, but the move is yet another sign that Google Assistant is going by the wayside. The nixed features were spotted by 9to5Google on a support page that lists other deprecated Google Assistant features, including more than a dozen that were dropped early last year. Among the chopped Google Assistant features that owners of Nest smart speakers and displays might miss is Family Bell, which allowed users to create reminder bells for family events such as breakfast or dinner time.

Looking to summon the entire family even when some loved ones are out and about? Google Assistant's Broadcast feature can now do just that, thanks to a recent update. Google is also rolling out a long-awaited improvement to the Assistant's Family Bell feature. Set to go live today, Google Assistant's enhanced Broadcast feature can now reach members of your family group on their phones as well as on Google smart speakers and displays. For example, you could say "Hey Google, tell my family, dinner will be ready in an hour" from the Google Nest Hub Max in the kitchen, and Google Assistant will broadcast the message to all the other Google speakers and displays in your home, as well as on the iPhones and Android phones of any on-the-go family members.

Google is giving users a new way to take charge over their privacy when using its smart speakers and displays. The new security feature, known as Guest Mode, keeps your personal data confidential while still allowing others to get the most out of Google Assistant--and it's already available on your Google smart speaker. Guest Mode is a new privacy feature for Google smart speakers that, when enabled, doesn't store assistant activity and audio recordings, or provide personalized results. The new feature, announced on Jan. 13, is ready for use on Google speakers and displays like the Google Nest Mini and Nest Hub Max. To turn it on, say, "Hey Google, turn on Guest Mode."

Raise your hand if this sounds familiar: It's five minutes until your third-grader's distance learning class, but just as you're about to make sure she's dialed into her Zoom call, something comes up with your own work. Thirty minutes later, you finally head over to your daughter's room, only to find her sprawled on the floor watching her iPad. Meanwhile, her Chromebook--the one she uses for Zoom calls--is securely shut. Yes, she just missed another class, and you (bad parent!) let it happen. Keeping your kids on track while juggling your own obligations has to be one of the biggest challenges of distance learning, remote learning, virtual learning or whatever you want to call it.

If you've been having trouble waking Google Assistant on your Google smart speakers and displays--or, on the flip side, if the assistant is occasionally waking by accident--there's a new Google Home setting that might help. Rolling out now to Google Home and Nest devices, the "Hey Google" sensitivity setting lets you determine how sensitive a given device is when it comes to listening for the "Hey Google" or "OK Google" wake words. You can find the setting (which was originally announced last fall before getting a quick preview a week ago) by opening the Google Home app, tapping one of your Google Home/Nest speakers or displays, and then tapping the Device settings button. You should see the "Hey Google" sensitivity setting about two-thirds of the way down the Device settings screen. Tap it, then use the slider to make your Google device either more responsive or less responsive to the "Hey Google" or "OK Google" wake words.

When we first heard about Google's Android Things platform in 2016 (and even earlier when it was Project Brillo) the idea was that it could bring additional intelligent capabilities to all kinds of electronics. However, in the years since AI helpers like Google Assistant have moved control and smarts to the cloud, while the smartest devices in your home are still just... speakers and displays. Now Google has announced that it's "refocusing" Android Things on those two types of devices. Over the past year, Google has worked closely with partners to create consumer products powered by Android Things with the Google Assistant built-in. Given the successes we have seen with our partners in smart speakers and smart displays, we are refocusing Android Things as a platform for OEM partners to build devices in those categories moving forward. Therefore, support for production System on Modules (SoMs) based on NXP, Qualcomm, and MediaTek hardware will not be made available through the public developer platform at this time.