Android Auto's Gemini Switch Leaves Drivers Frustrated — Here's Why

Over the past year, Google has slowly been phasing out Google Assistant to replace it with its updated Gemini AI assistant. Now, overall, Gemini is supposed to bring a more intuitive system to users, as well as additional access to better processing of your requests of the system. However, especially on Android Auto, the Gemini Switch has left a lot of drivers frustrated, myself included.

While not all users have had a bad experience with Gemini, some of the biggest complaints seem to be tied to how much more complicated Gemini seems to make basic tasks. One user took to Reddit to complain that anytime they try to get Gemini to play songs on Spotify, it keeps saying it can't assist them with playing videos while they're driving. This is no doubt frustrating, as the entire point of Gemini on Android Auto is to make your life easier when it comes to playing music, making phone calls, or any other assortment of things that you might need to do on your phone while driving, such as navigating to a new destination. 

I've had some personal experience with a few of these issues, too. Asking Gemini to take me to a specific location can often return a confused response from the AI, with it asking questions trying to nail down the exact place that I'm trying to get to — even if it is somewhere I go often. This is expected to some degree, especially if you live in a bigger city like I do. However, the overall performance just feels really inconsistent.

Perhaps one of the most abundant complaints that we've seen online and something that I have dealt with myself using Gemini on Android Auto and on my phone is that Gemini just doesn't like to stop talking sometimes. Don't get me wrong, Google Assistant had its share of problems, but a lot of the time when I asked it to do something, it completed the task and then moved on. However, Gemini tends to rattle on, taking the time to rattle through different information about your requests after completing them or even before completing them.

Some users have complained that when telling Gemini to find locations near them, even after they select a destination, the AI continues talking as if it hasn't realized that they already picked a location from the menu on the screen. Others have noted having to give the AI specific instructions to actually get it to call the people that they're trying to call. Otherwise, it might end up in a circular sequence of trying to find the contact and asking questions about your request.

The best selling point of Gemini replacing Google Assistant on Android Auto was to make ease of use better while allowing you to continue focusing on the road ahead of you. However, if users are having to take more time just to perform the basic actions that their assistant should be able to perform, then you lose the edge that Gemini is supposed to bring to the table.

Unfortunately, the problems with Gemini don't really stop there either. Complaints about Gemini failing to start text messages when asked to, or even complaints about it creating a chat instead of a reminder or choosing the wrong version of a song have surfaced online. Now, there is some room for error expected, especially when you're dealing with an AI because of how they tend to hallucinate. However, because of how inconsistent Gemini's performance feels across the board, and how many complaints we've seen, it really feels like the system needs more time in the development oven, so to speak.

The unfortunate news is that Google has officially killed Google Assistant. As of September 4, 2026, the company stopped offering support for the outdated Assistant on Android, Wear OS, and yes, "vehicles running Android Auto projected from a user's mobile device," which means you'll need to find a way to move forward with Gemini. Considering how hard Google is pushing Gemini across all of its services, the company really needs to address the complaints that we're seeing and find a way to work out the kinks if Gemini is truly meant to be a replacement for Google Assistant. 

To be fair, Gemini is absolutely smarter than Google Assistant in many ways — it's better at understanding you when you stumble through a voice command, and it's great at explaining multi-layered answers to complex questions. But those aren't ideal strengths for in the car, where it more often feels like we've taken a step back with basic, digital assistant-type tasks. Still, there are some clever ways you can use Gemini in your car, you just might need to work with Google a little to cut down on the noise.