Google Chat might soon get on-demand 'Summaries' powered by Gemini on Android

Google appears to be working on a new feature for its Chat app on Android that would allow users to generate on-demand summaries of conversations using the company’s AI language model, Gemini. I spotted this potentially upcoming feature by digging into the latest Gmail and Google Chat app releases.

Currently, Google Chat offers a “Conversation summary” feature that automatically provides a brief recap of a chat when needed. However, users don’t have the ability to trigger a summary on demand for a specific conversation. The new “Summary” feature that’s likely powered by Gemini aims to address this limitation.

According to new strings in the app’s code, users will be able to long-press on a chat to access the option to generate a summary. The strings include prompts like “Try again by long-pressing the chat again” and “Summary unavailable,” suggesting that the summary generation process will be initiated through a long-press gesture. Here are all the strings I found:

<string name="smart_summary_disclaimer">Duet AI won't always get it right. Responses are based on inputs and do not represent Google's views. Learn more.</string>
<string name="smart_summary_error_body">Try again by long-pressing the chat again.</string>
<string name="smart_summary_error_title">Summary unavailable</string>
<string name="smart_summary_negative_feedback_content_description">Thumbs down feedback</string>
<string name="smart_summary_positive_feedback_content_description">Thumbs up feedback</string>
<string name="smart_summary_title">Summary</string>

The summary functionality will likely be powered by Google’s Gemini language model. As mentioned in a Google Support article, “In the future, AI Meetings and Messaging will also provide access to Gemini in Google Chat features such as on-demand conversation summaries and automatic translation of messages.” This makes me believe that the new strings are indeed for the on-demand chat summaries.

Another thing worth pointing out is that the string mentions “Duet AI,” instead of Gemini. Google retired the “Duet AI” branding in favor of Gemini. So it’s possible that this might change later down the line as development on the feature progresses.

This integration of Gemini into Google Chat aligns with Google’s broader push to incorporate AI capabilities throughout its product lineup, ranging from search to productivity apps like Workspace. For instance, the company is now also preparing to bring the Gemini-powered ‘Summarize this email’ feature from the web to the Gmail app.

One of the strings uncovered, “Duet AI won’t always get it right. Responses are based on inputs and do not represent Google’s views. Learn more,” suggests that Google will include a disclaimer about the potential limitations and biases of the AI-generated summaries. Users will also likely have the option to provide feedback through “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” buttons, as indicated by the strings:

“smart_summary_negative_feedback_content_description” and “smart_summary_positive_feedback_content_description.”

The on-demand “Summaries” feature could prove to be a valuable addition to Google Chat, particularly for users who engage in lengthy or complex conversations. Instead of manually sifting through long chat histories, they could rely on Gemini to provide concise summaries, saving time and effort.

As of now, there is no official release date or timeline for the rollout of the on-demand “Summaries” feature in Google Chat. However, the presence of these strings in the latest app updates indicates that the feature is actively under development and could be introduced in the near future.

That said, we’d suggest taking the information with a grain of salt as the information shared here is based on speculation. We’ll have to wait and see if the presumption here is accurate or not. Furthermore, if the feature arrives on Android, we expect to see it made available on iOS too.