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With this new capability, Gemini moves closer to being the perfect Assistant replacement

Using Gemini to replace Google Assistant? You can now find out the name of a song playing in the background.

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By Alan Friedman

Published: Jun 22, 2025, 1:16 PM

The Gemini LLM is shown how it appears on an Android phone and on a desktop PC.

As you probably know by now, Google is phasing out the Google Assistant on Android phones and is replacing it with Gemini. When you think about it, this should raise the bar for digital assistants since Large Language Models can answer just about any question. Google uses its Utilities extension and Gemini's integration with Android's default Clock app to set timers and alarms.

One Google Assistant feature that had been missing from Gemini was the Assistant's ability to identify songs. This is not as important to those with a Pixel phone since these handsets have the Now Playing feature that shows on the lock screen what song is playing within earshot. Regardless, if you currently use Gemini instead of Google Assistant, you'll be happy to know that you can now ask Gemini for the name of the song that you can hear playing around you in the background.

Previously, when asked "What song is this?," Gemini would respond by telling you to install a music recognition app. On the other hand, asking that question to Google Assistant would result in the correct answer being displayed on the phone. However, Google has recently updated Gemini on Android to allow it to run the Google app's "Song Search" feature which can find the name of a song even when you merely hum the tune.

What you see when you ask Gemini for the name of a song playing in the background.

Ask Gemini to name a song on Android and you'll get a quick response via the Google app. | Image credit-PhoneArena

Now when you ask Gemini to tell you the name of the song playing in the background you'll see a multi-colored oscillating sphere. This will be followed by a response from the Google app using its "Song Search" feature which includes the name of the song, the artist, an option to see an overview of the song or view the lyrics, and a video of the tune.

On iOS, asking Gemini to identify a song playing in the background comes up empty as the app states that it is a text-based AI and cannot hear any audio. Also with iOS, asking the Google app to identify a song results in a suggestion that you use a music recognition app like Shazam. Asking Siri to name a song gets excellent results because Siri simply opens the Shazam music recognition app to get your answer even if you don't have Shazam installed on your phone.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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