TV sets running the Google TV operating system will receive an AI upgrade that will add Gemini to its Google Assistant voice-control system.
The announcement was made at the ongoing CES technology conference in Las Vegas. Google previewed the upgraded Google TV software that adds more natural voice commands, improved content search and deeper YouTube integration.
The Gemini upgrade is set to be rolled out later this year and will allow users to hold conversations with third-party TVs without the need to use the “Hey Google” trigger phrase for each command, reported Bloomberg.
The company is outfitting the TVs using its operating system with far-field microphones which will allow users to use voice commands spoken straight to the TV rather than into a remote.
It is the first time that Google is bringing its Gemini AI to third-party TV sets running its OS including those from Sony, Hisense and TCL after debuting some of that technology on the Google TV streamer it released last year.
The Google TV platform competes with other major television operating systems, including those from Samsung, Amazon and Roku.
LG and Samsung have both announced at the CES that some of their 2025 TVs will include access to Microsoft’s Copilot AI assistant.
Apart from confirming the arrival of Gemini AI to Google TVs, the company also previewed a new “always-on” mode for a slate of TVs that use sensors to determine if a user is approaching and show them information they may find useful.
It could, for example, display information such as the weather whenever it detects people near the TV.
Later this year, TCL will be the first manufacturer to offer this always-on mode, followed by Hisense next year.
