Gemini's next desktop upgrade could let it handle tasks across your apps

Gemini has barely had time to settle into its new Windows home, but Google already seems eager to turn the desktop app into much more than it already is. The Windows client launched earlier this month after the app debuted on Mac in spring with keyboard access and plans for local file support. Now, a new test suggests Google wants Gemini to get work done across your computer itself.

TestingCatalog reports that some users are starting to receive a new Tasks mode in the Gemini app on desktop. The interface adds a Chat/Tasks switch, separating regular conversations from more agentic work. We don’t have access to Tasks itself yet, so exactly what users can hand off to it isn’t entirely clear.

Still, the surrounding pieces tell us plenty. The app’s Computer Use settings now include controls for allowed and disallowed apps, letting users decide which applications Gemini can operate. Google is also making its previously spotted option to start a Gemini project from a local folder more prominent.

The setup looks familiar if you use ChatGPT. OpenAI already separates Chat and Work, with Work handling longer, multi-step jobs rather than everyday questions. On desktop, Work can use local files and apps with permission, while its cloud version can use connected apps and a browser. Gemini Tasks therefore appears headed toward a similar “talk to AI” versus “delegate work to AI” split.

There is another parallel: voice. A Gemini Live button was also spotted inside Tasks, potentially letting you talk through a job while Gemini works on your computer. That would fit neatly with Gemini 3.8 Live, which Google launched this month with background tool and API calls that can continue while the conversation keeps moving. Google has also positioned Gemini 3.8 Flash around smarter agentic workflows.

ChatGPT Work already supports live voice for tasks, so Google wouldn’t be alone here. But with app permissions, local folders, Computer Use, and Live potentially converging in one desktop mode, Gemini is starting to look less like an assistant you open and more like one you put to work.