Google Home starts testing Gemini ‘AI Camera Search’ and descriptions

As teased in August, Gemini is coming to Google Home, starting with “AI Camera Search” and “Help Me Create.”

Powered by Gemini, AI Camera Search is pitched as letting your Nest Cams “start to understand what’s happening.” Video clips in the Google Home will add detailed “AI descriptions” to “make it easier for you to search and review your recorded footage.” You’ll see them in the Activity tab.

Examples include:

• …instead of the usual ‘animal or activity detected’ label, the AI-generated description may be ‘the dog is digging in the garden’.
• …you might get ‘Person leaving parcel on porch’ or ‘Car parking’. 

Meanwhile, you will be able to search camera history with natural questions like:

• Did the dog go outside today?
• Was the rubbish taken to the street yesterday?
• Did the USPS truck stop by yet today?
• Was a delivery truck here today?
• Did the kids play in the backyard this afternoon?

Once available, a new search field will appear on top of the Activity tab.

Initial availability of Gemini-powered AI Camera Search will be for “select Nest Aware Plus users” in US English that are part of the Google Home Public Preview.

This feature will only be available on Nest cameras set up in the Google Home app (launched in 2021 or later) and legacy cameras that have been migrated to the Home app.

From the Public Preview page in the top-right corner of the Google Home app for Android and iOS, there will be an on/off toggle for “Experimental AI features.” This is rolling out starting this week.

This button will be greyed out if you don’t have a Nest Aware Plus subscription or the feature is not available yet for you

The other Gemini feature coming soon is “Help Me Create” in the Google Home app. You can describe what you want to do and Google will create an automation: 

Security:

• Remember to lock up at night
• Make it seem like someone’s home

Health and Wellness:

• Help me sleep better
• Set up morning workouts

Convenience at Home:

• Announce dinner time

Getting Things Done:

• Remind me to take out the trash
• Help me remember to pick up packages

We’re starting to roll this out to a small group of Nest Aware Plus subscribers in Public Preview later this year, in the Home app on Android, in English and US only to start.