Google has officially introduced Gemini for Home, a fundamentally new AI-powered assistant that will replace Google Assistant on Nest smart speakers and displays. This launch is the company’s most ambitious smart home upgrade in years, bringing advanced reasoning, inference, and search capabilities directly into the household. Early access begins in October 2025 with both free and paid options, and the rollout will gradually expand to all supported Nest devices.
The assistant is designed to make conversations feel more natural by understanding context and following up without restating commands. Google says the familiar “Hey Google” wake word remains, but users can also begin deeper conversations through Gemini Live by saying, “Hey Google, let’s chat.” Once active, follow-ups no longer require repeating the wake phrase, making interactions more fluid and closer to real dialogue.
Gemini for Home introduces new ways of handling everyday tasks with smarter commands. For example, it can respond to instructions like “turn off the lights everywhere except my bedroom,” or “play that song from this year’s summer blockbuster about race cars.” In the kitchen, users can ask for recipes such as “add the ingredients to make an authentic Italian lasagna to my shopping list,” while families can rely on the assistant for coordinating schedules, creating reminders, or managing shared routines. It can even answer practical questions like “how can I keep raccoons out of my backyard at night?” by pulling from its built-in reasoning and search abilities.
Google highlighted that Gemini Live can help in more expert-level ways, such as troubleshooting an appliance or planning out a new project step by step. It also supports creative collaboration, where the assistant can help write stories or brainstorm ideas in a conversational manner. This evolution goes beyond one-off voice commands, positioning Gemini as a more useful household partner.
While existing Nest speakers and displays will receive the upgrade, Google confirmed that new Nest hardware optimized for Gemini for Home will be launching later in 2025. These products are expected to feature faster response times and improved microphones to support continuous conversation. At the same time, Google acknowledged user frustrations about reliability and feature loss in Nest devices, promising that improvements will arrive as part of the Gemini rollout through fall 2025.
By bringing Gemini into the home, Google is taking direct aim at Amazon’s Alexa Plus, which already includes generative AI capabilities. If successful, Gemini for Home could reset expectations for how voice assistants work, moving beyond fragmented requests to more intuitive conversations that adapt to daily life. For Nest users, this promises a more powerful and reliable assistant at the center of the smart home.
