Gemini Live on Android Auto is brilliant and very buggy

Gemini Live has been one of the most useful AI tools in my daily life, since its launch two years ago on the Pixel 9 series. I use it to get answers while I cook, to check what happens to my plants when something goes wrong, and to ask questions about anything I’m unfamiliar with.

It’s an essential part of my Android experience and also my experience with Google Home smart speakers, but I recently tested it in a rental car with Android Auto and the results left me a little… disappointed.

Starting a live chat in Android Auto is as easy as summoning the regular Gemini and then saying, “Let’s chat.” The interface changes from a simple overlay to a full side menu reminiscent of the old Gemini Live interface on phones, with black and blue gradients. It is familiar and offers two very easy-to-access buttons: Hold and Stop. Once you’re in that live mode, you can start talking and the Gemini will respond while keeping your navigation or music running in the main Android Auto window. It’s that simple.

I was cruising around Romania, so I used Live to discuss possible activities, stops, things I needed to know about the towns and cities I was passing through or headed to, and much more. For example, on the way to Salina Turda, I asked about other activities I could do nearby and he suggested a quick one-hour hike in Turda Gorge, which ended up being an incredible experience. I could have researched that on my phone, but having a quick back-and-forth conversation to see how doable it was, how far, how long the hike takes, the terrain and elevation (I wasn’t carrying hiking gear), and if the weather was going to change soon helped me make a decision while on the way to Turda. There is no time wasted.

I half expected Gemini Live to only understand English, but like Live on my phone, supports multiple languages. I tried switching between English, French, Spanish and Arabic mid-sentence and he understood everything I said. I tried asking a question in English, then another in French and he answered. Even adding a random Arabic word among a bunch of English didn’t trip him up. Gemini Live has it all. This ability continues to surprise me because I thought AI would be years away from understanding multiple languages ​​this way, but no, it can now! And for someone who tends to think and speak in three or more languages, having Gemini respond to my chatter is one of the most impressive party tricks I’ve seen in tech in recent years.

Gemini Live is also a good way to stay awake and focused while driving. Every time I felt a little lull in my drive, I would throw it out and start chattering. It kept me busy on long stretches of road and helped me pass the time.

However, the negatives far outweigh the positives of my experience with Android Auto Gemini Live.

On the one hand, it worked without a problem when my Pixel 10 Pro XL was connected to the car, but every time my husband’s Pixel 7 Pro was connected, I couldn’t hear anything it said. I tried repeatedly, closing apps, clearing cache and data, restarting, to no avail. The Gemini Live interface would activate after “Let’s Talk,” but no matter how much he or I spoke, loud, slow, or fast, it didn’t register a single word. It was unusable. There are many Reddit threads with Gemini and Gemini Live issues on Android Auto, so I’m not the only one complaining about it. What sucks is that I don’t know what the difference is except that one phone is newer than the other.

Live also disappointed me with the lack of an ending trigger. I can start a conversation with “Let’s talk,” but there’s no way to end the chat unless I tap the red close button, like on my phone. I tried dozens of variations of “I’m done”, “Stop”, “Cancel”, “End this chat” and none of them worked. On my Google Nest Hub and Nest Audio, they work in Live mode, but not on my phone or car for some baffling and unrealistic reason. I should be able to say a couple of words to stop chattering, but instead I need to reach out and touch a button while driving, why?

Access to personal information is also quite restricted. It seemed like Live only had a cursory knowledge of my calendar and a couple of details, but couldn’t control my smart home or do anything more advanced with my documents or emails. The more I used it, the more I realized that it was basically a version of Live circa 2025, and not the most powerful Live experience we’ve had recently.

But the absolute most disappointing aspect of using Live on Android Auto ended up being two ridiculously silly design issues: Every time there was a Maps announcement coming from the car, it would stop Live (normal), instruct me about the next exit or turn or other navigation details (also normal), and then… just silence. It’s not normal. Vocal instructions in Maps cause live sessions to close. Not pause, but abandon it completely. You have to start Gemini again, then Live and try to convince him to return to the previous discussion, which is no easy task.

If it were up to me, the two experiences would be completely separate and Live would resume once the instructions had been completed. It would also support personal information and properly end a chat with a vocal command. And finally, it would use the screen space that Gemini Live occupies on an Android Auto head unit to display images and information related to the questions. So if someone asks about Turda Gorge, show them photos; If they ask about the weather, show the forecast, etc. Right now, that’s a wasted rectangle that does nothing but show a blue gradient animation.

Google still has a long way to go to ensure the Live experience on Android Auto is perfect, but I hope it continues to improve because it’s already off to a good start.