Google has unveiled the latest version of its TV operating system integrated with its Gemini AI assistant.
Gemini supports the feature, News Brief, unveiled at CES 2025. It will summarize the news of the day by searching and scraping news stories and headlines from across the internet and YouTube that have been posted by a list of trusted news channels. It then serves up a summary of events to the user.
The Gemini upgrade also would allow users to hold back-and-forth conversations with third-party TVs without the need to use “Hey Google” to trigger a command, Bloomberg reports.
Google plans to release the Gemini capabilities geared toward Google TV devices toward the end of 2025. Older devices will receive an update, while new devices will come equipped with the feature.
The update marks the first time Google will bring Gemini to third-party TV sets running its OS, including Sony.
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It’s not clear whether Google will need to license the content from publishers it serves in News Brief similar to the way it has done online in Google Search. It’s also not clear whether these news briefs will identify the source of the information, and if viewers will have the ability to click through to read the entire article.
Google does pay publishers to curate content and provide limited access to paywalled stories for free, but the content appears on the News Showcase platform and not in search results. It has since late 2020.
The company also has committed $1 billion to pay publishers to support journalism and the news industry.
Early this month, Google sent $100 million (U.S. $69 million) it agreed to pay Canadian news outlets in exchange for an exemption from the Online News Act to the Canadian Journalism Collective, a federally incorporated non-profit organization led by independent publishers and broadcasters.
And while the feature is focused on News Briefs, the possibilities for ecommerce in this TV OS are endless if Google decides to build a click-and-buy option in ads.
It’s not clear whether Google will need to license the content from publishers it serves in News Brief similar to the way it has done online in Google Search.
this should be clear before they get to do it