Gemini for Home decides ‘Fish Lemon’ is a better name for owner

Gemini for Home is supposed to get to know you better over time, but giving you an unwanted pet name might be going a bit too far. After a conversation about cooking fish, one user’s Google Home apparently decided they should henceforth be known as “Fish Lemon.” Funny as it was,  the joke has worn a bit thin for the user now, as Gemini seemingly refuses to forget it.

In a post on the r/googlehome subreddit, user nynexman4464 explains that the strange nickname appeared a few weeks ago. They remember asking a cooking question involving fish when Google Home responded with something along the lines of, “OK, from now on I’ll call you fish lemon.” They laughed it off at the time, but Fish Lemon has apparently stuck around.

The user says reminders are now announced as being for Fish Lemon, the name appears on their smart display, and asking Gemini their name produces the same answer. Telling it their real name or asking it to use something else only works temporarily before Fish Lemon inevitably returns. Their Google Account still shows their actual name, leaving them understandably puzzled about where Gemini has stored its new creation.

Oddly enough, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Gemini for Home get creative with names. Last year, camera summaries of some users appeared to invent names such as Michael, Sarah, and Kevin for people around their homes. That involved Gemini’s camera identification, rather than what appears to be happening here, and at least this user knows who Gemini is referring to when it says “Fish Lemon”.

Reddit has so far offered exactly the level of sympathy you’d expect. “Time to accept your new identity, fish lemon,” reads the top response at the time of writing, while another advises, “Don’t deny yourself fish lemon.” Someone else simply declared it a “Classic Fish Lemon post.” On the plus side, there are worse names the AI could have picked.