7 Gemini Live tips and tricks: How to get more out of Google's free AI voice assistant

Adam Breeden/ZDNET

Many AI bots still feel and sound artificial because the chats seem more like question-and-answer sessions than engaging conversations. But some AI developers have unveiled more interactive versions that simulate a real exchange as if you were conversing with another person. One such service is Gemini Live.

Now freely accessible to all Android users, Gemini Live allows you to carry on a more natural conversation with Google's Gemini AI, similar to OpenAI's ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode and Microsoft's Copilot Voice.

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You can chime in whenever you want, interrupt the assistant when it's speaking, view transcripts of your chats, and use the AI in the background or from the lock screen. Google even provides a variety of voices from which to choose to personalize and enhance your conversations.

For now, Gemini Live is available only through the Gemini app for Android. That means you can't run it at the Gemini website, in Google messages, or in the Gemini screen of the Google app for iPhones and iPads.

To use Gemini Live, you'll need an Android phone or tablet, the Gemini mobile app or Gemini as your mobile assistant, a personal Google account, and fluency in any of the 40 supported languages. After downloading the app from Google Play, click the small waveform icon in the lower right. You can now say hello or dive right into your conversation.

Now, here are seven tips for getting the most out of Gemini Live.

1. Choose an interactive topic of conversation

As with any AI chatbot, you can ask a question or request information about anything on your mind. But to take full advantage of Gemini Live, you'll want to treat it as a conversational partner rather than as a straight Q&A bot. Talk to it about open-ended topics where it might ask you questions to further the conversation. Treat it as if it were a friend from whom you're seeking help, advice, or information.

A few areas of conversation suggested by Google include:

Brainstorm ideas out loud: Ask for a gift idea, to plan an event, or to make a business plan.Explore: Uncover more details about topics that interest you.Practice aloud: Rehearse for important moments in a more natural and conversational way. Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

2. Interrupt Gemini Live

If the AI is rattling on about something and you want to change the topic or interject a question or comment, you can simply interrupt it. To make sure this ability is enabled, go to the main chat screen. Tap your profile icon at the upper right and select Settings. At the Settings screen, turn on the switch for Interrupt Live responses.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

The next time you're in the middle of a conversation, and the AI is speaking, start talking. Ask a question or make a comment. Gemini Live will detect that you've interrupted the chat and respond to you. I've tried this several times. Each time, the AI stopped speaking after a second or so and redirected the conversation to whatever I said.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

3. Pause or stop the conversation

If you want to take a break from your current chat, just tap the Pause button. When you're ready to resume, tap Continue. To stop the conversation entirely, tap End. You can then start a new conversation whenever you want.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

4. View transcripts of your conversations

During your live conversation, Gemini Live can't display anything on the screen. So you can't ask it to show you text, pictures, or other items. However, your conversation does get transcribed. To view the text of a chat, simply access your Gemini history and select the chat you wish to see. You can even resume the conversation.

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For example, I asked Gemini Live to give me a recipe for pecan pie. It started rattling off the ingredients without showing them on the screen. But when I viewed the chat afterward, all the instructions and ingredients were on display for me to read and follow.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

5. Use Gemini Live in the background

You don't have to remain at the chat screen to carry on your conversation with Gemini Live. You can continue to chat in the background while doing other things on your Android device.

To try this, you first need to enable notifications for Gemini Live. Go to Settings, select Notifications, tap App notifications, and then select Google. Turn on the switch for All Google Notifications if it's off and then turn on the switch for Gemini if it's off.

To use the AI in the background, start a Gemini Live session. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and you should see a notice at the top telling you that you're in Live mode with Gemini. You can now continue to chat with Gemini Live while you perform other tasks on your phone. To return to full screen mode, swipe down from the top and tap the card for Live with Gemini.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

6. Use Gemini Live at the lock screen

You can also carry on a Gemini Live chat with your phone in lock screen mode. To set this up, open the Gemini app, tap your profile icon in the upper right, and then select Settings. Tap the setting for Gemini on lock screen and turn it on if it's off. Next, go back to the previous screen, tap the setting for Google Assistant features in Gemini and turn it on.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

To use the AI at the lock screen, you first have to start your chat at the Gemini Live screen. When ready, tap the power button on your device to segue to lock screen mode. Continue the conversation. To jump back to Gemini Live full screen, swipe down and tap the Live with Gemini card.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET

7. Change Gemini's voice

You can change the voice that Gemini uses. At the Gemini Live screen, tap your profile icon at the top and select Settings. Tap the setting for Gemini's voice. Swipe through all the voices to hear how each one sounds.

You'll find a range of voices with different genders, accents, and pitches. I've always fancied British accents so I picked the Capella voice. When you land on the voice you like, tap the left arrow at the top to return to the main screen, and your conversations with Gemini Live will now adopt your chosen voice.

Screenshot by Lance Whitney/ZDNET