Gemini in Google Home Keeps Mistaking My Dog for a Cat

A feline jumped up connected my couch. Wait a minute. I don't person a cat.

The alert astir nan leaping feline is thing my Google Home app sent maine erstwhile I was retired astatine a party. Turns retired it was my dog. This notification came done a time aft I turned connected Google's Gemini for Home capability successful nan Google Home app. It brings nan powerfulness of ample connection models to nan smart location ecosystem, and 1 of nan astir useful features is much descriptive alerts from my Nest information cameras. So, alternatively of “Person seen,” it tin show maine FedEx came by and dropped disconnected 2 packages.

In nan 2 weeks since I allowed Gemini to powerfulness my Google Home, I've enjoyed its expertise to observe transportation drivers nan most. At nan extremity of nan day, I tin inquire successful nan Google Home app, “How galore packages came today” and get an meticulous answer. It's bully to cognize that it's FedEx astatine nan door, per my Nest Doorbell, and not a salesperson offering to switch my windows. Yet for each its smarts, Gemini refuses to understand that I do not person a feline successful my house.

Person Seen

Google isn’t nan only institution souping up its smart-home ecosystem pinch AI. Amazon precocious announced a characteristic connected its Ring cameras called Search Party that will usage a neighborhood’s worthy of outdoor Ring cameras to thief personification find their mislaid dog. (I don't request to agelong to ideate thing for illustration this being utilized for nefarious purposes.)

In early October, Google updated nan sound adjunct connected its smart-home devices—some of which person been astir for a decade—by replacing Google Assistant pinch Gemini. For nan astir part, nan adjunct is better. It tin understand aggregate commands successful a spoken condemnation aliases two, and you tin very easy inquire it to automate thing successful your location without fussing pinch nan Routines tab successful nan Google Home app. And erstwhile I inquire it a elemental question, it mostly gives maine immoderate benignant of a reliable reply without punting maine to a Google Search page.

Smarter camera alerts are so much adjuvant astatine a glance. Most of nan time, I dismissed Person Seen notifications because they’re often conscionable group stepping by my house. Now nan alerts really opportunity “Person walks by,” which gives maine greater assurance to disregard those. Some alerts accurately opportunity “Two group opened nan gate,” though sometimes it will hallucinate: “Person walks up stairs,” erstwhile nary 1 really did. (They conscionable walked connected nan sidewalk.) It has reasonably accurately noted erstwhile UPS, FedEx, aliases USPS are astatine nan door, which is bully to cognize erstwhile I’m engaged aliases retired and about, truthful I tin make judge to cheque for a package erstwhile I get home—no request to hunt done alerts.

But pinch my indoor information cameras, Gemini routinely says I person a feline wandering nan house. It’s my dog. Even successful my Home Brief—recaps astatine nan extremity of nan time from Gemini astir what happened astir nan home—Gemini says, “In nan early morning, a achromatic feline was active, stepping into nan surviving room and sitting connected nan couch.” It’s amusing, particularly considering my canine hates cats.

CatDog

You would deliberation past that I would beryllium capable to conscionable tell this smarter assistant, “Hey, I don’t person a cat. I person a dog,” and it would set its models and hole nan error. Well, I did precisely that. In nan Ask Home feature, you tin talk to Gemini and inquire it thing astir nan home. This is wherever you tin inquire it to group up automations, for example. I asked it to move connected nan surviving room lights erstwhile nan cameras observe my woman aliases I arriving home, and it understood nan action. It moreover guessed that I wanted nan lights to travel connected only erstwhile arriving astatine night, contempt maine forgetting to mention that.