AI-powered Google Nest upgrade simplifies finding familiar faces

Google has finally upgraded its Nest cameras with Gemini AI, so users can now search for events in their camera footage and receive written descriptions. This new AI feature is another step towards Google ‘replacing’ Google Assistant in favour of its Gemini AI large language models.

2024 has been a big year for Google. Alongside new Pixel phone and tablet launches, and a new Google TV Streamer to replace its beloved Chromecast, Google also announced that it’d be introducing Gemini to its range of products, including its smart home offerings.

Google originally announced that it’d be adding Gemini to its Nest cameras earlier this year, with a focus on improving its security cameras detection and notifications. Now, Google has finally added Gemini to its Nest cameras in the Google Home app, and its image search and recognition is seriously impressive.

The Gemini-powered search feature helps condense your video footage, so you can better find specific clips within your history. For example, rather than scroll through hours of footage, you can search for clips like ‘when did the postman come?’ or ‘when did my kids get home from school’ and the Gemini AI assistant will look through the footage to find it for you.

Alongside image search, Google Gemini will also provide you with detailed descriptions of your video footage in the Google Home app. In an effort to make its assistant sound more natural and conversational, this description feature is really clever and uses image recognition to provide a detailed explanation of what’s happening in or around your home.

Building on this further, users can also create automations based on your Nest camera footage and Gemini alerts. For example, if your children have left toys outside in the garden, you can ask Gemini to set an automation through your Nest camera, so it tells your kids or whoever arrives home within a specific time frame to bring in the toys.

As someone who constantly scrolls through video footage to make sure everything is fine at home while I’m away, I think image search will be extremely useful, especially for busy families. The slight catch to this – if you can even call it that – is that this new Gemini feature is only available for cameras with a Nest Aware Plus subscription.