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Files by Google gets ready to start summarizing your documents (APK teardown)
- Google appears to be working on giving Files the ability to generate document summaries.
- Gemini Nano will likely be used for on-device processing, potentially limiting access.
For everyone who’s starting to feel a little sick and tired about everything being AI-this and AI-that, it’s important to remember that while companies may be casting a bit of wide net with their flashy new AI features, there are some things that artificial intelligence truly does really, really well. High on that list is condensing lots of data down to bite-sized summaries, so it’s little surprise that we’ve seen Google implement just that sort of thing in service after service. Now we’re looking at what could be the next app to integrate AI-generated summaries, as we check out development work on Files by Google.
We first heard about Google going in this direction earlier this month, when 9to5Google spotted the Files app not just working on a new Circle to Search tool, but also noticed a few text strings referencing “AI-generated summaries.”
Now we’re diving into the new Files app 1.4678.667290778.0-release beta, and we’re discovering even more content along this line, suggesting that work on the feature is actively underway:
<string name="smart_description_dialog_subtitle_paragraph_1">AI-generated summaries describe what's in your file, so you can find the info you need more quickly.</string>
<string name="smart_description_dialog_subtitle_paragraph_2">AI summaries are generated on your device, so your info isn't shared with anyone.</string>
<string name="smart_description_dialog_subtitle_paragraph_3">This feature won't always get it right, so double check any crucial information. You can turn this setting off at any time in settings.</string>
<string name="smart_description_dialog_title">Find important info with AI summaries</string>We also managed to activate the toggle for the feature, which indicates that users will have some level of control on these AI summaries.
At the time, 9to5 speculated that Google would take advantage of Gemini Nano in order to do this AI processing on-device. We’re seeing evidence in support of this theory, which may limit availability to mostly Pixel devices — as well as those lucky few others that support Gemini Nano. It’s possible we could see this broadly available for non-Pixel phones, as well, with Google leveraging the Gemini assistant for generating these summaries, but right now it’s a little soon to say with any confidence which way Google will go there.
Considering how cloud-focused so many of Google’s AI tools are, it’s nice to think about a very local app like Files not missing out on this AI attention.