Summary
- Scheduled Actions let users automate prompts like daily summaries using Google Gemini.
- The feature is exclusive to Gemini AI Pro and Ultra subscribers on Android only.
- The app is currently limited to 10 active schedules, tied to the location where they were created.
Scheduled Actions could be a game-changer for Google Gemini. Imagine having AI remind you about important events in your calendar, emails you need to deal with, and tasks you’ve assigned yourself. It can surface these, and more, at scheduled times. Well, it’s finally coming, but there’s a catch.
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The feature has started rolling out more broadly on Android, but only for users with a paid Gemini AI Pro or Ultra plan (via 9to5Google). It was originally teased a few weeks ago. You can use it for things like morning briefings, weekly blog ideas, etc. We used to call it Google Assistant, but better late than never.
Proactive help for those who pay
Source: 9to5Google
Creating a Scheduled Action is easy. Give Gemini a prompt such as “Summarize my unread emails every morning at 7 am.” Gemini will confirm the setup with an inline card. You can manage all your scheduled items through your profile picture in the top-right of the Gemini app, where a new “Scheduled actions” page now appears.
You can choose to pause or delete any of your active prompts. However, there are limitations. Only 10 Scheduled Actions can be active at once. Also, any actions that use a location as a trigger will always use the location where the action was created.
But that’s not the biggest limitation. Access is where people are going to run up against a paywall. Scheduled Actions are currently only available to Gemini AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Also, the feature isn’t on iOS or web, yet, and there’s no word if it will ever be made available for free users.
It’s like Assistant but prettier
Google Assistant had similar functions, called Routines. Scheduled Actions are clearly the replacement, and is just another nail in the coffin of Assistant. It also shows how Gemini is evolving from a chatbot to a fully featured digital assistant, the one we all envisioned when Google Assistant first appeared back in 2016. But unlike with Assistant, you’ll need to pay to get the most use out of Gemini.
