Google Gemini’s voice chat mode is here

Google is rolling out a new voice chat mode for Gemini, called Gemini Live, the company announced at its Pixel 9 event today. Available for Gemini Advanced subscribers, it works a lot like ChatGPT’s voice chat feature, with multiple voices to choose from and the ability to speak conversationally, even to the point of interrupting it without tapping a button.

Google says that conversations with Gemini Live can be “free-flowing,” so you can do things like interrupt an answer mid-sentence or pause the conversation and come back to it later. Gemini Live will also work in the background or when your phone is locked. Google first announced that Gemini Live was coming during its I/O developer conference earlier this year, where it also said Gemini Live would be able to interpret video in real time.

Google also has 10 new Gemini voices for users to pick from. The feature has started rolling out today, in English only, for Android devices. The company says it will come to iOS and get more languages “in the coming weeks.”

In addition to Gemini Live, Google announced other features for its AI assistant, including new extensions coming later on, for apps like Keep, Tasks, Utilities, and YouTube Music. Gemini is also gaining awareness of the context of your screen, similar to AI features Apple announced at WWDC this year. After users tap “Ask about this screen” or “Ask about this video,” Google says Gemini can give you information, including pulling out details like destinations from travel videos to add to Google Maps.