Google AI Now Uses Your Gmail and Photos for Personalized Help
▼ Summary
– Google is adding a “Personal Intelligence” feature to its AI Mode in Search, allowing it to use data from a user’s Gmail and Google Photos for personalized responses.
– This opt-in feature is initially rolling out to AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S. who use English.
– The integration leverages Google’s existing ecosystem of user data to provide tailored experiences that competitors may find difficult to match.
– For example, when planning a trip, AI Mode can use hotel bookings from Gmail and photos to suggest a personalized itinerary.
– Users can turn the feature on or off, and Google states the AI does not train directly on personal email or photo content.
Google’s AI Mode, the conversational search feature designed for complex queries, is evolving to become significantly more tailored to individual users. The company has announced an expansion of its “Personal Intelligence” capability into this tool, allowing it to access information from a user’s Gmail and Google Photos to craft highly personalized answers. This move leverages the vast amount of data users already store within Google’s ecosystem, aiming to provide a level of customized assistance that competitors may find difficult to replicate.
Initially introduced in the Gemini app, Personal Intelligence functions by connecting information across Google services like Gmail, Photos, Search, and YouTube history. The feature is now beginning its rollout to AI Mode for subscribers of Google’s AI Pro and AI Ultra tiers in the United States, with English as the starting language. Importantly, this is an opt-in service; users retain full control and can enable or disable Personal Intelligence at any time according to their comfort level with data access.
The practical applications are designed to feel intuitive and helpful. Imagine planning a family vacation. Instead of receiving generic lists, AI Mode can reference your hotel confirmation from Gmail and past travel photos to suggest a curated itinerary. It might recommend a classic ice cream parlor because it recognizes a pattern of ice cream-themed photos in your Google Photos library. The goal is to provide a personalized starting point that reflects your unique history and preferences without requiring you to repeatedly state them.
According to Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, this integration means recommendations are designed to fit seamlessly into your existing life. For shopping, this personalization becomes particularly powerful. If you need a new coat for an upcoming trip, AI Mode can cross-reference your preferred brands with flight details from Gmail to suggest weather-appropriate options for your destination, effectively acting as a personal shopper who already knows your plans.
Users can pose creative, context-rich questions, such as asking for a personalized anniversary scavenger hunt with hints based on shared memories or seeking themed bedroom decor ideas for a child. Google emphasizes that while the AI uses your data to generate responses, the underlying model is not trained directly on the raw contents of your inbox or photo library. Instead, it learns from specific user prompts and the model’s own generated responses to improve over time.
(Source: TechCrunch)
