Ryan Haines / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Gemini for Android is now a valid target on the Android share sheet, letting you share files from any app directly to the AI assistant for analysis.
- You can now also upload up to ten files simultaneously for analysis.
The Gemini vs Google Assistant debate on Android will continue for a while, but it’s clear that Google is marching forward with its vision for Gemini as a utilitarian AI assistant. One of the better use cases for AI is the ability to analyze long files and give you summaries and other information. You can already use the Gemini for Android app to analyze files with AI, but Google is making it more convenient to do so by now letting you use the Android share sheet.
In previous versions of Gemini, if you needed to analyze a file, you opened the Gemini app and used the Add files button (the ‘plus’ button) on the left of the text box to select whether to upload a file from your device or your Google Drive.
Gemini v1.0.686588308 has added the ability to attach files to the AI assistant for analysis using the Android share sheet. You can directly share files from any Android app by using the Share button and invoking the Android share sheet. Within the share sheet, you will see the Gemini app as a valid target, making it super convenient to attach these files. You can see the new behavior in the demo video below:
Thanks to this change, you won’t need to know where you have downloaded your files on your device to attach them to Gemini. The share sheet also reduces friction as you don’t need to close an app, open another one, and find your file for analysis; instead, sharing it is a smooth and natural action.
This change also brings support for attaching and analyzing multiple files simultaneously in the Android app, maxing out at ten files at a time. However, you are limited in the file extensions that you can attach. These are the extensions that Gemini for Android currently accepts for analysis:
- Plain text files: TXT
- Code files including C, CPP, PY, JAVA, PHP, SQL, and HTML
- Document files: DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF, DOT, DOTX, HWP, HWPX
- Documents created in Google Docs
- Tabular data files: CSV, TSV
- Spreadsheet files: XLS, XLSX
- Spreadsheets created in Google Sheets
This feature is currently live in Gemini v1.0.686588308. Give it a try, and let us know your experience with analyzing files with AI in the comments below!
