Gemini arrives on Google Home this October

Google will bring Gemini to smart displays and speakers in October, with free and paid versions to control the home more naturally.

Gemini arrives on Google Home with free and paid tiers

Google announced that Gemini for Home will launch in early access this October on smart displays and speakers, replacing Google Assistant. It will be offered in both a free tier and a paid tier, signaling a push toward expanding Google’s subscription business alongside AI features. The rollout follows Google's CES 2025 demonstration, which highlighted natural, human-like conversations and multimodal use of Nest inputs such as cameras to answer questions about home activity.

Details about pricing and which features sit behind a paywall were not disclosed in the blog post. Nest Aware subscribers had been cited as a likely early access group, suggesting a possible tie-in with existing subscriptions. Google may also be prepping a hardware refresh for the Nest lineup alongside Gemini for Home, though concrete plans remain to be announced.

The move marks a strategic shift for Google as it tests monetizing a core smart home helper. A free tier alongside a premium option could widen access while still pushing revenue through subscriptions. Clarity on what the paid tier adds will be crucial to avoid consumer pushback.

The change intensifies the race with Amazon’s Alexa and raises questions about privacy as AI gains more visibility into home devices. Success will hinge on pricing transparency, the value of Gemini Live, and how smoothly cross-device inputs from Nest products translate into useful, trusted recommendations.

Highlights

The smart home keeps moving toward personalised AI that looks at your life and asks for a little more in return.