Google is reportedly working on adding support for a second language with Gemini Live. As per the report, the Mountain View-based tech giant is planning to allow users to speak with the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot in two different languages across speech and text modalities. With this, Gemini Live is said to not only understand what the user is saying, but also be able to respond in the same language. The first evidence of this feature was reportedly found in December, and now the company has also updated its support pages to highlight the support for a second language.
Gemini Live May Support a Second Language
Right now, Gemini Live, the two-way real-time voice chat feature, allows users to switch between languages mid sentence, and the AI still understands and responds appropriately. With a bit of right prompting, users can also make Gemini speak in two languages at the same time, which is useful if the speaker prefers one of the hybrid language varieties such as Hinglish (blend of Hindi and English) or Spanglish (blend of Spanish and English).
While this is a useful feature, sometimes Gemini Live will not recognise the second language despite multiple prompts. Additionally, support for a second language is not available outside of Gemini Live, which also restricts the usability.
According to an Android Authority report, the tech giant is now working on a settings option that will allow users to set a second language. The feature was found by the publication during an Android application package (APK) teardown process within the Google app beta version 16.9.39.sa.arm64. As per the report, the settings option is now visible by turning on certain flags. However, despite adding a second language, the publication was not able to see the feature, likely due to it being a sever-side update.
Separately, Google has also updated its Gemini Live support page. The feature earlier supported 30 languages, which has now been increased to more than 45 languages. Additionally, the page now mentions, “In settings, you can add up to 2 languages to talk with Gemini Live in.”
Currently, it is unclear how Google plans to go on about it, and how adding a second language will affect the Gemini AI assistant in Android, the general text-based interaction with the chatbot, and using other app-specific Gemini tools in Google Workspace. The company has not made any announcement regarding when this feature could go live.