Google’s new “24/7” AI agent, Gemini Spark, can also be shockingly just right at doing issues to your behalf. However I’m now not positive it’s well worth the monetary value and attainable privateness tradeoffs.
The corporate gave me get entry to to Spark remaining week. Google advertises Spark as an AI agent that may tackle duties and paintings on them within the background — even duties that experience a couple of steps — permitting you to position your telephone down or stroll away out of your pc. It additionally advertises on the very best of the Spark web page that it’s “all the time beneath your path,” that “you select to show it on,” and that “it’s designed to test with you prior to taking primary movements.” Given the mounting skepticism towards AI, it’s very a lot “my ‘now not inquisitive about rogue AI’ T-shirt has other people asking questions already replied through my blouse.”
I didn’t know the place to begin, so I took a web page from my colleague Antonio’s e-book: I determined to make use of Spark to take on duties like what Google demonstrated onstage at I/O. Would it not paintings as smartly in my house place of work because it did at the giant degree?
At I/O, Google VP Josh Woodward confirmed off a couple of other examples. The primary was once asking Spark to draft an electronic mail to a group at Google, collect the whole lot in regards to the Gemini Reside launches and “wins from remaining week,” and use a distinct AI talent to make the e-mail sound like him. Google asking Google to do issues for Google must be the very best carry on this planet, so I attempted to push it additional.
I requested Gemini to draft an electronic mail to my spouse that compiles our overall per thirty days reasonable grocery spending in 2026. I figured this take a look at would inform me a couple of issues: May just Spark determine who my spouse was once (with out me giving Spark her identify), may it resolve the place our price range spreadsheet is in Power (which doesn’t have “price range” within the document identify), and may it in truth draft an electronic mail in Gmail?
After I were given the outcome from Spark in a while after, I in reality stated: “Wow, that’s in truth nuts.” Spark discovered my spouse’s electronic mail cope with, pulled the correct data from our 2026 price range spreadsheet, grabbed the per thirty days grocery totals together with the unfinished knowledge from Might (which nonetheless wasn’t over after I ran the take a look at), averaged the totals, and put all of it in a draft electronic mail in my Gmail. The textual content of the e-mail addressed my spouse through her first identify, even supposing her electronic mail cope with does now not comprise her first identify. It even incorporated a sign-off that we use only for each and every different.
In his subsequent instance, Woodward requested for some lend a hand making plans a block birthday party. I’m now not making plans a block birthday party, however I requested Spark for lend a hand the use of the similar questions he requested. It didn’t pass smartly. It created a desk of family and friends as a “extremely practical reference for who’s bringing what,” drafted an electronic mail in my Gmail bringing up a shared sign-up sheet that doesn’t exist, and created an unpleasant deck with slides detailing details about town lets in.
To push Spark, I requested it to create that lacking sign-up sheet and upload a hyperlink to the e-mail that was once already drafted. Whilst Spark took a couple of mins to determine it out, that job did paintings; it created a spreadsheet and went again to the draft electronic mail textual content and dropped within the hyperlink.
Woodward’s remaining demo was once arguably essentially the most spectacular. He talked at Spark to invite it to do a number of items: make his conferences with CEO Sundar Pichai scorching purple on his calendar, write a observe to a brand new neighbor to ask him to his block birthday party, and create a report to lend a hand with to-dos for his children for the top of the college 12 months. For my very own model, I requested it to make a calendar match each and every month forward of my spouse’s birthday and make it scorching purple, draft an electronic mail to my circle of relatives about sending them the primary episode of the newest season of Taskmaster, and create a report with the highest issues my spouse and I wish to find out about getting our infant in a position for preschool.
I began this request at 3:35PM PT on Friday. All over I/O, Woodward made slightly of a display about placing his telephone down and promising to test the effects later within the keynote, which he did. However after addressing one hiccup — Spark sought after to get entry to my contacts, which I declined — my job was once executed about 4 mins later.
As soon as once more, I used to be slightly floored through the effects, despite the fact that they have been imperfect:
- My Google calendar now has occasions from 9–10AM on the proper day of each and every month main as much as my spouse’s birthday. The reminders are in what Google calls “flamingo,” which isn’t precisely “scorching purple,” however shut sufficient.
- Spark grabbed the emails of my quick circle of relatives and put them in a draft electronic mail. (Surprisingly, it didn’t come with my spouse’s.) The textual content of the e-mail were given the identify of the primary episode of the newest season of Taskmaster right kind, however connected to a trailer as an alternative of the particular episode. The e-mail additionally incorporated the time period “loool,” which is one thing I write in informal written dialog.
- Spark made a Google Document in my Power with a preschool preparation tick list. On the other hand, it’s simplest to be had to me; I requested Spark if it might give get entry to to my spouse, however it stated it isn’t these days in a position to try this.
Spark can be a tough instrument. However there are a couple of caveats I must point out. Like any AI equipment, you continue to have to test its output to ensure it’s correct, which will have upper stakes when it’s pulling from private data to arrange stuff you percentage with other people you recognize. Even supposing Google pitches Spark as one thing that may function by itself, I discovered myself repeatedly staring at it or checking the notifications it despatched to my telephone. What just right is an assistant if you must micromanage their each transfer as an alternative of trusting them? And why must one thing I think so undecided about drain energy from a resource-hungry knowledge middle for fairly inconsequential duties?
Recently, Spark is simplest to be had to subscribers of Google’s AI Extremely plan, which begins at $99.99 per 30 days, and simplest to customers in the United States and simplest in English. Google gave me loose get entry to to check Spark, and I don’t suppose it’s just right sufficient to be the only real reason why to spring for the ones dear plans. Particularly after I may do all the duties I requested Spark to do alone — they’d simply take extra time.
Spark additionally works highest when you’re already deep within the Google ecosystem and feature Non-public Intelligence on. I’ve had a Google account for round twenty years, so Spark has numerous knowledge it may well use to tell its solutions. However whilst Google guarantees that Gemini “doesn’t educate without delay” to your Gmail inbox with Non-public Intelligence became on, you’ll nonetheless have to position your religion in Google that it is going to be a just right steward of your knowledge. For now, I’m now not positive if that’s price the price or the danger.
