Google is bringing its Gemini AI assistant to smart TVs in a bigger way this year, with the ultimate goal of getting people to pay for it in some way.
Several television makers plan to announce new Google TV sets with Gemini built in at CES this week. The smart TVs include far-field microphones that respond to “Hey Google” voice commands, and they’ll use proximity sensors to detect how far you’re standing from the TV, showing artwork from far away and an informational dashboard up-close.
Meanwhile, Gemini will begin handling some voice commands on TVs. This will allow for more nuanced movie and TV show requests, such as “suggest a movie like Jurassic Park, but suitable for young children.” It’ll also provide longer answers for certain types of knowledge queries, with suggested YouTube videos to match.
None of these features will cost extra when they start rolling out later this …