Google’s Gemini AI is taking a step closer to becoming more like a real assistant. Starting with some Pixel 10 phones and the Samsung Galaxy S26 series, Gemini will be able to hail an Uber or place a DoorDash order on its own.
It’s called task automation, and it starts with a prompt to Gemini — something like this — “Bring me an Uber to the Palace of Fine Arts.” Gemini then launches the app in a virtual window on your device and walks you through the step-by-step process. You can watch it all happen, with options to stop the automation or take control if necessary, or just let it run in the background while Gemini does its thing. If the Assistant needs your attention to choose between two options, or if something you asked him to look for is out of stock, he’ll notify you. Once your ride or grocery cart is completely ready, Gemini will alert you to watch and submit the final order yourself.
According to Samir Samat, president of the Android ecosystem, this is a step on a journey to think of Android not as an operating system, but as an “intelligence system.” And app automation isn’t just limited to Gemini. Samat says this ability for an AI assistant to automate tasks is coming in the next major release of Android, so we can expect to hear more about it as more is revealed about Android 17.
So how is Gemini actually fulfilling your burger order? The demo I saw was based on Gemini 3 opening the app and clicking through different steps, finding the right option, and using logic to consider options. But app developers can also expose some functions using MCP or Android’s App Functions framework – Google is laying the groundwork for at least 2024 onwards. Where none of these things are present, the idea is that Gemini will get there and figure it out for themselves. Samat explains, “We see it as a series of technology stacks, none of which the user really cares about – they just want it.” “We think it’s important to support them all, so that over time you have an assistant who can complete all kinds of different tasks for you.”
So, in a future where Gemini will take over the wheel and use your apps for you, isn’t this likely to rub app developers the wrong way? Doesn’t Uber want the opportunity to remind me that I can save a ton of money by signing up for Uber One? Samat says, “This technology is evolving, and the question for the developer community is… how do we find the right ways to adopt it together?”
The journey to find that future begins very soon indeed. For now, task automation is limited to just a handful of apps, including Uber and Grubhub, and will be available as an early preview on the S26 series in the US and Korea, as well as the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Pixel 10 Pro XL.
