Hands‑On: Gemini’s Task Automation on Pixel and Galaxy

I spent time testing Gemini’s new task automation feature on the Pixel 10 Pro and Galaxy S26 Ultra, and the experience feels like a small but meaningful step toward phones that can actually act for you. Instead of just suggesting actions, Gemini can open apps, tap through menus and attempt whole flows like ordering food or hailing a ride.

Right now, the scope is narrow: a few food delivery and rideshare services are supported, and the feature is still in beta. That limitation matters. In many of my tries the system was slow, sometimes clumsy, and occasionally failed to complete the job. It didn’t solve any existing critical problem for me — you can still place orders faster by doing it yourself — but seeing an assistant navigate a real app is striking.

The workflow is usually: tell Gemini what you want, it confirms the steps, then takes control to finish the process. When it works, it genuinely saves taps. When it doesn’t, recovery often requires manual intervention. Reliability and speed are the obvious next bottlenecks to address before this becomes broadly useful.

Privacy and permissions are another area to watch. Granting an assistant the ability to interact with apps raises questions about data access and controls. Google will need transparent settings and sensible defaults if this feature is to gain user trust.

For now, Gemini’s task automation reads like a proof of concept that hints at a more autonomous future for smartphones. It’s not polished, but it’s a believable preview of how AI might reduce friction in everyday mobile tasks — provided developers and platform owners refine accuracy, latency and privacy controls first.