Google pushes Gemini deeper into users’ lives with new ‘Personal Intelligence’ feature

Google is rolling out a new “Personal Intelligence” feature for its Gemini app, aiming to make its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant more personalised by drawing on users’ data across its services such as Gmail, Photos and Calendar.

The Alphabet Inc. unit said in a blog post that the capability is the “next step toward making Gemini more personal, proactive and powerful.” The feature is launching in beta and is initially available only to Google AI subscribers.

The move signals Google’s ambition to turn Gemini into a deeply integrated digital assistant that understands not just user queries, but also personal context drawn from its ecosystem of apps. At the same time, the approach is likely to reignite concerns around privacy and how much access consumers are willing to grant AI systems to their personal data.

What is Gemini’s Personal Intelligence?

Until now, Gemini could pull limited information from individual Google apps. Personal Intelligence takes that a step further by connecting data across multiple services and analysing it simultaneously to deliver more tailored responses. 

The beta feature is powered by Google’s latest Gemini 3 model, which the company says has two core strengths: pulling relevant information from a user’s Google apps and using that data to complete tasks or answer complex questions.

For example, Google could summarise recent emails, surface photos from a specific trip or help plan schedules based on calendar events, all within a single conversational interface.

How it compares with rivals

The launch positions Google more directly against rivals such as OpenAI, whose ChatGPT offers a memory feature that learns from past conversations. Google’s approach goes further by tapping into external ecosystem data, including emails, photos and calendar entries, potentially giving Gemini a deeper understanding of a user’s life.

Google says Gemini will also show users where it sourced its information, highlighting references from connected apps to improve transparency.

Privacy and security concerns

Opening up personal data across Google’s ecosystem to an AI assistant also raises concerns around privacy, security and data misuse.

Google says Personal Intelligence is strictly opt-in and that it does not train its models directly on users’ private data. While the feature can retrieve information from emails, photos and even search history, the company says users remain in control of permissions and can manage access through their privacy settings.

Still, questions remain about potential data leakage, the role of third-party plugins and extensions and how securely information is handled, especially as the feature remains in beta and could be vulnerable to bugs or inconsistent behaviour. 

Availability 

Personal Intelligence is rolling out to Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in the US across web, Android and iOS. The company says it will initially be available to a limited number of users for testing before expanding globally and eventually reaching free-tier users. 

Google also plans to bring Personal Intelligence to its AI-powered search experience, marking another step in its effort to weave generative AI into the core of its products.