Google Expands Gemini for Home to Canada

Google has expanded its Gemini for Home Early Access program to Canada, marking the first international rollout of the AI-powered voice assistant designed to replace Google Assistant on smart home devices. The announcement came on Wednesday from Anish Kattukaran, Chief Product Officer for Google Home and Nest, via the social media platform X, where he stated that Canadian users can now sign up for invites through the Google Home app.

The program, initially launched in the United States in late October with accelerated invitations earlier this month, allows users to upgrade their compatible devices to Gemini, which offers enhanced natural language processing and contextual understanding for voice commands. In Canada, those who have already signed up for early access will receive invitations shortly, while new sign-ups are expected to get access within days. To join, users tap their profile picture in the Google Home app, navigate to Home Settings, and select Early Access. Access is granted on a per-home basis, meaning separate invitations are needed for multiple homes set up in the app. Once approved, all linked devices in that home receive the upgrade.