Google put its AI assistant, Gemini, at the center of its presentation to testers and the public — it’s what sets Pixel phones apart from any other Android phone, the company says. In fact, you have to watch 24 minutes of Google’s keynote presentation and listen to a few failed live AI demos before any details about the Pixel hardware are even mentioned.

I’ve been using a Pixel 9 Pro as my everyday phone for about a week now. Aside from the physical design of the device, there’s almost nothing new about the Pixel 9 that isn’t related to Gemini in some way. So this review will examine how Gemini works on the Pixel 9, which is currently Google’s main platform for Gemini. While some of the Pixel 9’s AI-powered features could come to other Android phones in future Android releases, that’s not certain. AI – as a free trial, as a custom chip designed by Google, and as an OS integration – is something that Google uses to set the Pixel apart from the crowd.

I wrote a separate review of the three main Pixel 9 devices. But it’s weird to think of the Pixel 9 as a pure hardware product. In short, the phones themselves are capable evolutions of the Pixel series and probably the best versions Google has made to date, and they sell at prices that reflect that. If you love Pixel phones, like upgrading, and want to ignore Gemini in particular and AI features in general, this might be all you need to know.

However, if you buy a Pixel 9 Pro, Pro XL, or Pro Fold (coming later), spending $1,000 on the Pro gets you a free year of Gemini Advanced ($240 per year after that), and Gemini is suggested in every Google-built corner of the device. So let’s talk about Gemini as a phone task assistant, image editor, and screenshot librarian. I used Gemini as much as I thought was worth it during my week with a Pixel 9 Pro.

I’m new to general-purpose AI chatbots and prompt-based image generation, and have never used an “advanced” model like Gemini Live before. Those with more experience or existing enthusiasm will likely get more out of Google’s Gemini tools than I did. I’ll also leave discussions about Google’s approach to on-device AI and its impact on energy consumption to other articles.

Gemini, General: Like a Very Fast Blogger Working for You

When testing the Pixel 9 Pro, I had access to the most advanced versions of Gemini, both the “Advanced” model itself (a free one-year trial for any Pixel 9 buyer) and the enhanced voice dialog “Gemini Live.” Was that helpful?

It was as if I had hired a blogger who was at my beck and call, working much faster and causing far fewer complaints than their human counterparts – all at the touch of a button. This blogger is a capable, if not very stylish, writer who can quickly look things up and cobble together a few facts and advice. But the blogger is also easily distracted and is not someone you would trust with important decisions without further research, perhaps even into the sources they cite.

I should know—when I worked at Lifehacker, I was one of those fast-writing, six-post-a-day bloggers. I was in my mid- to late-20s in the late 2000s and certainly didn’t have the knowledge and experience to confidently write about every possible topic in the broad realm of “technology,” “productivity,” and “little things that could improve your life if you thought about them a little.”

But I could certainly browse, read and triangulate the advice of some websites and blogs and come up with sensible summaries and suggestions. Depending on how you looked at it, I was an agile general purpose writer, a talented idiot, or a combination of both.