Google’s AI assistant, Gemini, can generate highly personalized content by analyzing users’ private data stored across its services. According to an article by Lila Shroff for “The Atlantic,” this capability is ushering in an era of hyper-personalized chatbots.
Shroff details how Gemini wrote a birthday letter for her friend that felt “unnervingly” like something she would have written herself. The AI referenced specific shared memories it found in her Google Drive files after receiving only a simple, nine-word prompt. To test its capabilities further, she asked Gemini to create a “CIA dossier” about her. The AI accurately described her past relationships, her communication style, and even identified her as an overthinker, all based on her personal documents and emails.
This level of personalization is possible because Gemini is integrated into the Google ecosystem, including Gmail and Drive. While chatbots from other companies can perform general tasks well, they typically require users to manually provide personal information for individualized results.
According to the article, Google’s access to vast amounts of user data from services like Chrome, Maps, and the Android operating system gives it a significant advantage. Other tech companies like OpenAI and Meta are also pursuing personalized AI, but Google is well-positioned to lead due to its existing data infrastructure. Shroff notes, however, that Gemini’s output was not always perfect, occasionally confusing fiction from her writing with real events.
