Google is set to take a major step forward in smartphone AI capabilities with the Android 16 update set to launch with an improved version of Gemini AI software. This upgrade turns Gemini into an Agentic AI Assistant, which will allow the app to autonomously complete in-app tasks for the client.
Android Authority has reported that in Android 16, the company is set to launch a completely revolutionary feature known as “app functions.” These are specific tools provided by third apps that Gemini AI can call and activate in response to input from the user without the need for the user to open the third-party app. For example, as a user of a food ordering program, Gemini could order directly and remove the need for an additional step.
This signifies a significant advancement over what Gemini AI can achieve now, where the bot can only assist with specific applications and at the base function. At the moment, only several third-party apps, including WhatsApp, as well as native apps by Google are integrated with Gemini Extensions and enable the assistant to communicate with them. Furthermore, it includes certain basic options, which are launching apps and tweaking settings. Nevertheless, even complex multiple-step processing still needs user interaction.
The new app functions feature exposed in the Android 16’s developer documentation will help to fill this gap and let Gemini AI perform many more tasks non-impeded. Google defines app functions as “particular implementation that an app brings into a system and which the app provides for the use across the features of the system.”
However, the transformation process of Gemini does not end with control via in-app automated solutions. Google is also rumoured to be working on a larger action model under the project codename, Project Jarvis. The main purpose of this filter is to use this initiative to extend Gemini’s functionality to web-based task automation. Actions such as ticket booking, basic web searches, and site browsing might someday be performed independently by Gemini with integration into the Google Chrome browser.
As Google proceeds to work on Gemini AI, you can see that the company is working on reinventing the ways people use technology. From helping to automate tasks in applications to performing sophisticated actions in web interfaces, Gemini is on track to become an indispensable component of the new generation of smartphone capabilities.
The Android 16 update, along with the further development of Gemini AI, creates a significant milestone in AI in making smartphones intelligent, effective and easier to use.