Android Auto users complain about broken Google Assistant functionality, as the slow Gemini rollout continues

Date:
Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:56:05 +0000

Description:
Many users are still waiting for Gemini to arrive on Android Auto, while finding that Google Assistant is giving up.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Google Assistant is failing for many on Android Auto These users are still waiting for their Gemini upgrade The Gemini rollout should be fully completed in the near future

Google's Gemini AI is slowly replacing Google Assistant on Android Auto, but for those users still waiting to be switched over, an increasing number of functions are breaking and people aren't happy about it.

As noted by 9to5Google , there are multiple reports on Reddit of Google Assistant refusing to carry out tasks or give answers that it previously had no problem with. One example given is the assistant not understanding navigation directions spoken out loud.

It's one thing to be still waiting for the Gemini upgrade to reach your Android Auto dashboard it's another to find that basic functions in Android Auto are now broken because Google Assistant is becoming less and less capable.

"I didn't understand that" is apparently now a common refrain from Google Assistant whenever voice commands are tried, and one user has had to revert back to their car's built-in navigation just to find the right route from A
to B each time. Phone calls and music streaming Anyone else notice google assistant becoming more useless? from r/AndroidAuto

There are plenty of replies to the original post: one mentions asking Google Assistant to play some tunes on Spotify, only to be met with silence. It
seems that third-party integrations are now consistently breaking as well.

Another comment complains about not being able to take phone calls through Android Auto, which seems to be a running theme in the thread. These are pretty basic functions that Google Assistant has been handling for years without any problems.

"It's gotten noticeably worse lately," writes one Redditor , who has been unable to find places such as gas stations near their current location using Google Assistant. Even worse, these features are still working fine in the Google Maps app without Android Auto.

The only light at the end of the tunnel for these frustrated users is that
the Gemini upgrade should arrive soon though no fixed date has been given by Google. After that, voice interactions with AI on Android Auto should be much more natural and useful.

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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/gemini/android-auto-users-co mplain-about-broken-google-assistant-functionality-as-the-slow-gemini-rollout- continues


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