Gemini is getting a ChatGPT-flavored tweak and new Maps features

OpenAI is evidently pretty concerned over Gemini’s increasing marketshare, with the company reportedly entering “code red” this week in an effort to improve ChatGPT’s performance. Today, we spotted some upcoming tweaks to the Gemini app interface that won’t help OpenAI execs sleep any easier: An in-progress update borrows heavily from OpenAI’s chatbot app, reorganizing tools in a way that’ll make ChatGPT converts feel right at home.

Experimenting with version 16.48.54.sa.arm64 beta of the Google app, we managed to enable some changes to Gemini’s interface that aren’t yet accessible in public-facing releases. First up: Gemini is pretty blatantly iterating on ChatGPT’s app design.

The tools icon that currently surfaces functionality like image and video generation is going away, with those options folded into the menu that slides up from the bottom of the screen when you tap the plus icon. The new, combined menu is a dead ringer for the ChatGPT app; you can see the two side-by-side below.

Google’s also cooking up a new way to add voice input to a Gemini chat. In an upcoming update, you’ll be able to press and hold the microphone icon to start voice recording that stays active until you tap a new stop button. Presently, voice input ends if you take too long a pause, making longer or more complex voice queries tricky. (Tapping the mic icon without holding will continue to start voice input that works same way it does today.)

We saw in-development functionality similar to this back in October, but at the time, this longer voice input option was only available inside the Gemini app. As tested this week, pressing and holding the microphone icon enables long-form voice input both in the Gemini app and the Gemini overlay that can appear over other apps.

New Maps stuff — and Gemini Live experiments?

Gemini’s getting some new Maps functionality, too. Place recommendations will come with significantly more info inside the Gemini app, including photos, videos, reviews, and more, all pulled from Google Maps data. You’ll also be able to export lists of places Gemini generates to Google Maps for quicker access after your search.

Finally, the Gemini Live interface seems to be getting a new Labs icon. This icon didn’t do anything in our testing, but it could be a sign that Live is getting new experimental features soon.

None of these changes are live in the Gemini app yet, but given we were able to get them up and running with a little elbow grease, it’s likely that any or all of these new bits could be rolling out officially in updates in the near future.