Google's Gemini Spark automates routine tasks for AI Pro and Ultra subscribers

Spark is built to take a user's instruction and act on it with what Google describes as "proactive action," while still following the directions given. The Spark website lists examples including turning a user's last 50 email responses into a style guide that covers how they answer email, or setting up a tracker for internship applications. It is integrated with Google Workspace apps such as Docs, Calendar, Slides and Gmail, and with Personal Intelligence, a Gemini feature that customizes suggestions using information from a user's Google apps.

Users also need "Keep activity" switched on, which Google says "lets you pick up chats where you left off." Spark can be reached through the Gemini mobile app, the Gemini Mac app and the web app, and it works with Gemini in Chrome through auto browse for tasks such as booking restaurant reservations and handling travel arrangements.

Google attaches conditions and warnings to the feature. The company says AI can still make mistakes and advises users to keep an eye on whatever tasks they have set up. It warns against putting sensitive information into a task thread, including login or payment details; instead, Google recommends entering that information directly on the relevant website. It also cautions against scheduling tasks that are too sensitive, particularly if a task is set to run while the user is offline, and asks users to consider whether a mistake such as a hallucination could cause actual harm.

To create a task, a user selects Menu and then Spark in either the mobile or web app, and types the task into a textbox. The Spark website gives the example of a prompt reading: "When I receive an email inquiring about my photography services, automatically extract the client's name, requested date, and log the lead in my 'Client Tracker' Sheet. Then create a new Google Drive folder named after the client." A relevant file, or something from Google Drive or a Notebook, can be uploaded at that point before the task is submitted.

Google emphasizes monitoring tasks in case Gemini needs something from the user, such as taking over a task in the browser. Going to Menu, then Spark, then Tasks shows the thread associated with a task, and updates can be made there. Tapping the progress chip at the top of the thread opens a work panel showing completed, current and planned steps.

At the end of September, Google said it would replace Gemini Gems with skills as the method for dictating instructions for tasks. In a blog post, the company described how skills can be used to automate repetitive tasks; a skill might consist of instructions for preparing presentations or for adopting a specific writing style. Once a skill has been created, Google said, a user can type a forward slash followed by the skill's name while writing a prompt in order to use it again.