"There's a Reason for Greater Accuracy"... Google to Use YouTube History and Emails for Gemini

Providing Personalized Answers Using Google Platforms
Aiming for an Edge Over Competitors Like ChatGPT

Google's chatbot service Gemini is set to provide personalized answers by leveraging information such as YouTube viewing history and Google email data. Through this, Google aims to offer a service that is a step above competitors like OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Anthropic (Claude).

According to the Financial Times (FT) on January 14 (local time), Google has launched a personalized information feature for Gemini. With user consent, Gemini can access a variety of Google platform services-including YouTube viewing history, photo albums, and emails-to deliver more accurate information.

Animesh Sivarama Krishnan, Head of Gemini’s Personalized Service Group, stated, "We have always wanted to create a genuinely useful personal assistant that helps with 'things happening in life,'" adding, "We can evolve Gemini from a simple assistant that processes commands into one that understands users better."

Gemini is expected to provide more specific answers when it has access to the user's emails, photos, and YouTube viewing history. For example, when a user is planning a vacation, Gemini can use past travel information obtained from photos or emails to identify preferences such as whether the user enjoys outdoor activities, has children, or has favorite hotels, and then create a customized travel itinerary, according to FT.

Google plans to offer Gemini’s personalized service settings to premium subscribers first and expand them to free users worldwide in the coming months. Google's personalized service is expected to give it a competitive edge, as rival chatbot services like ChatGPT and Claude have relatively limited access to personal data.

However, concerns have been raised that Gemini’s personalized service may infringe on personal privacy. In response, Google has decided to set personalized services to inactive mode by default to protect user privacy. Users can directly select which apps to connect and can disconnect them at any time. FT also noted that not all responses will be personalized even when the personalized service is activated.