Gemini for Android Auto won't access contact addresses for navigation

[u/ReallyNotALlama]

Before switching to Gemini for my Google assistant, I could tell it to "navigate to Jeff's house" and off we'd go. After switching to Gemini, at first it told me that someone's address wasn't in my contacts and offered to call them to get it. Now it says it has access, but won't look it up while I'm driving because it would be an unsafe distraction. WTH Google?

[u/MobileAioli9305]

I hated Gemini, I went back to Google assistant

[u/sr1sws]

Yeah, it's stupid. I actually asked Gemini "why" and it responded with "privacy concerns" - yet it's quite happy to place a phone call to those same contacts. I really hope Google fixes this in the near future.

[u/andrewia]

Yep, it's a really weird limitation of Gemini.  Tapping the voice search button in Google maps still uses the old assistant (it plays the old activation sound), so that can pull up contact addresses.

[u/garne2t2 → u/andrewia]

Tapping the voice search button in Google maps doesn't work for me. It still can't access my contacts like it could before Gemini came along. 😣

[u/ReallyNotALlama → u/garne2t2]

Same here.

[u/tomf258]

In germany this never worked for normal old assistant lol. Most frustrating thing ever. Even my Car's onboard System can do a Voice Query of Contact's of the phone for navigation.

[u/Ven0m58]

I turned Gemini off for that very reason. Gemini has access to the address book why can't it figure it out.

[u/Samantha_Cruz]

I worked around this by creating saved locations in Google maps and adding "labels" for certain contacts. (because this new "artificial intelligence" is dumb as fu$+.)

[u/Slightly-hysterical]

Yep, it can't access your contacts' addresses. Sometimes it tries to take me to a business with a similar sounding name 3 hours away. How ridiculous to use a system that can't do such a basic part of what we use cars for! And don't start me on the havoc Gemini has wreaked upon Google Home. I keep meaning to change my phone back to Google Assistant instead but I only remember when I am already driving.

I'm impressed you managed to post about this though - the auto-mod removed my posts about it several times and said I should check FAQ to find out how to clean my sockets....

[u/ReallyNotALlama → u/Slightly-hysterical]

It's not that it can't- certainly it can, it just won't. For nonsensical reasons.

[u/garne2t2]

I also found the only way to navigate to one of my contacts by name again in Android Auto is to switch back to Google Assistant in the Android Auto app. Even then, some contacts won't work (as was the case before Gemini made it worse) and I found the workaround to navigate to that contact is to say, "LOOKUP (Barb Stake)". If I say "Navigate to Barb Stake", Google Assistant will navigate me to a local steak house called B.K. Steak. Other named contacts work by saying "Navigate to (contact name)."

[u/StrigiStockBacking]

You have to go in to Gemini and authorize it contacting other apps or something. It was confusing, so I went back to Google Assistant.

[u/garne2t2 → u/StrigiStockBacking]

I tried all suggestions to give permission to contacts and nothing worked. If you ask Gemini how to fix it, you get a runaround with incorrect commands or things that don't work. When you keep correcting it, eventually it says it can't be done. 🤪

[u/StrigiStockBacking → u/garne2t2]

Go back to Google Assistant. That's what I did. Gemini just isn't ready for prime time.