Google starts testing a new Gemini-powered Assistant voice on Nest speakers

Google Assistant on Nest smart speakers and displays is set to receive a significant upgrade powered by advanced Gemini language models. Google shared its plans for the improved Assistant in August this year, highlighting that it would offer more natural-sounding voices with a Gemini Live-like conversational experience and richer responses. Although the upgraded Assistant hasn’t rolled out widely, it seems Google has started testing a new voice with a few users.

According to recent reports on Reddit (via 9to5Google), Google Assistant on Nest speakers appears to be using a new voice when answering specific queries. Users say that the Assistant only uses the new voice for conversational responses and reverts to the old voice for basic questions.

A video highlighting this change shows the Assistant responding with the new voice when asked “What’s up?” but using the old voice when asked about the weather. This behavior and the fact that the new voice is unavailable to most users suggests that the upgraded Assistant experience isn’t quite ready for prime time just yet. We expect Google to make an official announcement once it starts rolling it out widely.

In addition to the new voice, Google has previously revealed that the upgraded Assistant for Nest devices will be capable of having a long back-and-forth conversation. It will also be able to use Gemini’s generative capabilities to respond to more complex prompts like “Help me make the case that Crocs are extremely cool — and mention sport mode.” These features don’t seem to be live at the moment but could roll out over the coming weeks.