Gemini for Home is free, but its best features aren’t

Google just released a suite of new Home devices with Gemini, replacing Google Assistant on yet another platform. As part of its announcement, Google has also announced new features that will enrich how you use and interact with myriad smart devices compatible with the Google Home app.

With Gemini’s integration, the Google Home app on Android is getting a conversational interface. As with other Gemini applications, the idea is to make chores feel more effortless. For instance, you can ask about specific events captured by various outdoor or indoor cameras. In such an event, it should find relevant clips in a matter of seconds, thereby eliminating the need for manual scrubbing. These are part of a new feature called “Ask Home.”

Gemini also offers AI-generated descriptions for various events captured by cameras, coupled with alerts when the doorbell rings or the outdoor cameras detect motion. Besides alerting you when a person is approaching the main door or a child is running through your front yard, the Gemini will also identify individuals who appear in front of the camera. So instead of just giving you the description for a person or a pet, Google says Gemini in Google Home will know when it’s someone you might know — presumably based on their photos in the contacts list or from your Google Photos. Meanwhile, you would also be able to use Ask Home about specific events, with questions such as “Who ate my plants?” and can expect Gemini to look for exact cues.

There’s one catch, though! These alerts, also part of Ask Home, along with the other AI perks, will require a premium membership for Google Home.

For this, Google has introduced new Home Premium subscription plans alongside Gemini for Home and a host of Nest devices. Home Premium starts at $10 per month and will enable features such as continuous interactions through Gemini Live with the new Nest speaker. In this plan, you will also receive a 30-day event history, intelligence alerts, and Gemini’s assistance in creating automation routines.

There’s a more expensive, $20 plan that will allow storing a longer 60-day event history with a 24/7 feed for the last 10 days. You would also be required to upgrade if you wish to use Ask Home.

Users who already subscribe to the Google AI Pro and Ultra subscriptions will have Home Premium access included within their existing plans and will not be required to pay extra.

Home Brief

In addition to the features discussed above, Gemini will also power daily summaries, highlighting key events throughout the day. This daily summary is called the Home Brief, which we had also spotted while sifting through unreleased features in an earlier version of the Google Home app.

Based on the demo, the summary concisely captures key details from the entire day’s events. In addition to summarizing the feed from the cameras, the summary can include changes made to appliances or detected by sensors. It will also inform you of specific times during the day when a person or a delivery arrives, as well as other similar events captured by outdoor cameras.

Like Ask Home and Gemini Live, Home Brief will also require a Home Premium subscription; however, you will need the more expensive $20 plan to enable it. Despite the cost, it may be well worth it, considering it will reduce the time required to sift through alerts and likely eliminate unnecessary ones.

Google says these features will begin rolling out to Google Home later this month.

This article was updated on 10/02/2025 at 9:50 AM ET to clarify that Ask Home, Home Brief, and some other AI features require the more expensive $20 monthly subscription.