Drivers claim Android Auto's switch to Gemini makes them feel less safe behind the wheel

Published Aug 28, 2026, 11:35 AM EDT I've been covering Android and other mobile technology for close to ten years now, with a specific interest in phone accessories, e-readers, and what makes each individual phone different from another. I delight in looking at the phone market from as many angles as possible, and while my opinions may be odd, at times, they're always from the heart as much as the head. I have a background in the mobile accessories world, which explains my odd enthusiasm for cases and things that clip onto smartphones. I worked for Digital Trends from 2017 to 2025. Sign in to your Android Police account If Google was hoping removing Google Assistant as an option would warm people up to Gemini, then it's going to be disappointed. One irate post on the r/GoogleAssistant subreddit claims that the Gemini voice assistant will be the cause of an increase in crashes and road rage. And while that opinion is unsubstantiated, many people seem to agree with her. Gemini can't live up to its predecessor Irritation and distraction make for bad driving While the writing had been on the wall for Google Assistant ever since Gemini was released, it was still a shock when Google finally confirmed when Assistant's final day would be. From that date on, Gemini would be the only option as a voice assistant — and Google was likely hoping people would adapt to it quickly. However, irritation with Gemini has escalated into this post from user L00k_Again, who is convinced it will lead to more car accidents. It's clearly a rant post, and light on anything you might want to call analysis, but it is further evidence of general unhappiness with Gemini in Android Auto. Ever since its rollout in April of this year, people have been complaining about Gemini's performance. And based on the comments on the post above, Gemini hasn't improved very much. The crux of the argument is a simple one: every time Gemini fails, it distracts the driver from, well, driving. Reformulating a question or asking it again is distracting, and it's also irritating, which only adds to the distraction. If this happens enough times, then crashes are inevitable. There's precious little evidence to support the view that Gemini increases the chances of crashing over Google Assistant. However, it's easy to argue that the shift to Gemini's more conversational mode increases cognitive load on a driver — which draws attention from driving. The same can also be said for any continued conversation modes, which keep the line open to the AI for longer conversations. It's an entirely different beast to Google Assistant. Assistant worked on simple commands, and was more limited. By broadening the scope of Gemini's abilities, drivers are encouraged to talk to it more, and give it longer and more complex commands. Ergo, the chance of failure would also increase. Google's counter-argument is that a conversational tone is more natural, and should therefore be less distracting. Speaking personally, I have found that Gemini is far more distracting while driving than Google Assistant ever was — and it's entirely because I use it more often than I used Google Assistant. I have found it to be unreliable, and often it refuses to do something I know Google Assistant was capable of. You don't even have to take my word for it. David Buck, from our sister site How To Geek, found using Gemini made driving feel significantly less safe. Ultimately, we don't have the data to make an informed judgment at this point. According to NHTSA stats, distraction-caused driving amounts to around 10% of all police-attended crashes from the period from 2021 to 2024. If we start to see a big spike in the numbers in the next few years, then we'll probably have a pretty good idea why.