4 everyday reasons I want Google Gemini in my car (and why you might, too)

I use an iPhone 16 Pro as my daily driver, so to speak, but I’m not an Apple diehard. I’ve owned multiple Android phones in the past, and my work machine is a Windows PC. I’m actually a little jealous of Android users occasionally — the best Android phones tend to have superior camera and charging specs, and Google’s Pixel devices are graced with AI features that iPhones are struggling to catch up with. It took until this fall’s iOS 26 for Apple to add call screening and hold assist options that have been on Pixel phones for years. If you’re in the US, anyway.

Perhaps the thing I’m most jealous of is Gemini integration. I don’t put generative AI on a pedestal — it’s too unreliable for that — but when it works, it pulls off things that us iPhone owners can only fantasize about. I’m actually most interested in seeing Gemini break the confines of Android Auto and come to CarPlay, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility if some rumors about Apple Intelligence and Siri come to fruition. For now, it’s mostly an interesting thought exercise. Hopefully you agree with me.

Re-routing to avoid specific roads

Avoiding traffic should be easy

My weightlifting sessions have been problematic lately, but not because of anything happening at the gym. Rather, it’s the commute back home — highway repair work has meant delays of 10, 20, or even 30 minutes on a trip that should take 20 at most. This wouldn’t be so bad except that I haven’t been able to count on Apple Maps or Google Maps to automatically re-route me based on traffic data. I was honestly excited the first time Google Maps offered an alternative to a slow crawl.

Gemini doesn’t support this yet, but it seems inevitable that at some point, it should allow users to ask for directions that avoid named roads. I used to live in Austin, where any sane driver tries to avoid MoPac or I35 if they can help it. A command like “navigate to Alamo Drafthouse Mueller, but avoid I35,” makes perfect sense. I could also see many drivers wanting to dodge gravel roads, or ones with steep inclines. Here in Edmonton, some of the backroads are in such rough shape that they’re genuinely hazardous for anything that isn’t a farm vehicle.

That sort of data doesn’t show up in mobile apps very often — but if we could tell an AI assistant ourselves, it wouldn’t matter so much.

Easier pitstops (and other vague requests)

Smart context, smarter driving

Something that is in Gemini already is the ability to add a pitstop during a trip without digging through touchscreen options — which is fine when you’re parked, but dangerous when you’re moving at highway speeds. More importantly, you can add pitstops using vague statements, such as “find some good taco places along the way.” Because of the data gathered in Google Maps, Gemini should be able to pull up results even when restaurants don’t have the word “taco” in their name.

The AI can also tap into apps like Gmail and Google Calendar if you’re struggling to remember an address. I’m usually good about identifying where I’m headed, but I’d be lying if I said I’ve never had to track down the location of a doctor’s office, or even where my best friend lives. There’s too much else I have to memorize on a daily basis.

Something I haven’t seen mentioned is whether you can ask Gemini to find a place based on details that a human might understand, but not necessarily a voice assistant — like “that Old Navy near the Red Lobster,” or “that park with the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue.” It’s something that should be a feature, at least.

Because music is life

Much to the consternation of my wife, I’m sure, I insist on putting on music or podcasts before I drive anywhere. Siri does seem to be competent at recognizing what I want to play, whether it’s on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — but it can make mistakes, so I often skip the middleman and use touch controls. That leads to me listening to a handful of playlists, since it’s a lot easier to track down something I recently played than go hunting for what best fits my mood, or experiment with new artists. I’ll leave that for my workday listening.

Gemini wouldn’t radically enhance my audio experience, but it might open up some horizons — say by asking for “ambient music for a quiet night drive,” or “music that will keep me awake on the way to San Antonio.” It might also do better at handling foreign artist and song names than Siri. I’m skeptical on that front, yet it’s about time I had an assistant that understood what I mean when I ask for German-language artists like Nachtmahr. It’s not easy being a rivethead, sometimes.

More complex messaging

Saving time, staying focused

Speaking of the gym, I always let my wife know when I’m headed home and share my real-time location, since I train at night. Instead of Apple Messages, however, I use Facebook Messenger while I’m still in the locker room. It makes the process a little simpler — especially since there’s no easy way to do these things when I’m already on the road. Siri is a little clinical about sending messages anyway. You have to use very specific command words, and it doesn’t automatically insert punctuation, either. If I forget to intentionally add commas or exclamation marks, I sound like an unfeeling robot.

Gemini could, in theory, fix all of these issues simultaneously without my having to build a custom shortcut. “Tell [name] ‘I’m coming home!’, then share my location with her.” Boom, done. I could even share more elaborate thoughts without worrying about how they’re going to be butchered.

Apple is no doubt going to implement all of this in Siri at some point, regardless of whether it integrates Gemini. But I’m impatient. If it takes another partnership with Google to make my life easier and distance myself from Meta, I’m onboard.