Google and the AI Industry's User Experience and Branding Problem
Google and the AI industry face a significant brand management challenge by foregrounding internal engineering architecture and distinct feature names rather than offering a unified interface to consumers.
Google's new Gemini Live voice features announced on Wednesday argue that users shouldn't have to question which tool to choose for tasks. However, the company creates a confusing user experience that contradicts this message by using separate brands and icons like chat, Spark, and Daily Brief within the app.
Confusion in the Gemini App
In the updated Gemini app, Google offers users three distinct features—chat, Spark, and Daily Brief—each with separate icons and navigation areas.
The Status of the Daily Brief Feature
Serving as an AI-powered agenda that provides personalized updates using data from applications like Gmail and Calendar, Daily Brief means daily summary.
However, this feature can fail to distinguish between urgent information and unnecessary reminders, while also resurfacing old searches, creating an unsettling experience for users.
Spark and Industry-Wide Issues
Spark, a useful AI agent capable of taking action on behalf of users, is unnecessarily packaged as an independent brand.
This problem is not limited to Gemini; it spreads across the industry in other AI tools like Anthropic Claude and ChatGPT by directly reflecting internal architecture onto the consumer.
Engineering-Focused Design
Companies' engineering-focused designs make users' interactions with AI unnatural and complicated.
Consumers are expected to learn new brand names for the interaction modes behind the AI model, a situation that could put Apple's Siri approach in a more advantageous position.