Gemini’s Android Assistant is now even more useful when your phone is locked

Gemini started life as a bit of a reactionary character.

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Directly competes with ChatGPT. So when Google turned its AI into Android Assistant, it’s no surprise that many of the little things Google Assistant could do didn’t exist yet. Slowly but surely, this side of Gemini is catching up to its predecessor, and the latest addition is one of those quality of life improvements that will make you wonder why this didn’t happen in the first place.

After early signs of a rollout were spotted late last year, Google is now widely rolling out a new setting in Gemini that lets its AI assistant make calls and send texts when the screen is locked. (via 9to5Google) However, unlike some recently added Gemini extensions, this setting is not enabled by default.

If you’re okay with someone potentially being able to call or send you messages without unlocking your phone, tap the profile icon in the top right corner of the Gemini app to enable the new settings You can. From there, on the lock screen, go to (Settings) → (Gemini) and enable the toggle next to (Make calls and send messages without unlocking).

Make sure texting and phone extensions are also enabled

If you don’t see the settings, force stop the Gemini app and try again. Another thing to check is the set of extensions that allow this (these are enabled by default). To confirm this feature is available, tap your profile icon in the Gemini app, select (Extension), and make sure both Messages and Phone Extensions are enabled .

You should now be able to summon your Gemini assistant from the lock screen and tell it to “call mom” or “text dad” without having to unlock your phone first.