Google brings message summaries and notification prioritisation to Pixel

Google brings AI message summaries and prioritised alerts to Pixel

Google has added message summaries, notification prioritisation and other AI-powered features to Pixel smartphones.

Messages from chat apps are summarised in the notification shade, letting users quickly scan information from long group threads.

In December, users will be able to organise and mute low-priority alerts.

In 2024, Apple unveiled a similar tool as part of Apple Intelligence. The company later paused the use of AI in notification summaries for news and apps after criticism over inaccurate information.

Google added a feature to prioritise preferred contacts from Google Messages and WhatsApp. Alerts from them arrive with elevated status in the phone’s status bar at the top of the interface.

The company will add a “crisis badge” to the Contacts widget to help quickly find and track key contacts in emergencies.

“Notifications about messages from people who matter to you now get priority. This helps you stay connected throughout the day and not miss anything. They will also now have a crisis badge in the Contacts widget to keep you informed of emergency alerts,” the company’s blog says.

Other updates include an overhaul of Remix, which turns still images into sketches, 3D animation and video. Google Messages users can now edit pictures right in the chat, including collaboratively with another user.

Remix uses the Nano Banana AI model to generate and edit illustrations.

A new alert system flags suspicious messages. Pixel theme packs also arrive — with wallpapers, icons, GIFs and sounds — that can be installed across devices in one click. The first set ties in with the upcoming film Wicked: For Good.

Google Photos now lets users edit group photos with text prompts. You can open the app, tap “Help me edit” and ask it to “remove Riley’s sunglasses, open my eyes, make Engel smile”.

To fix an image, the AI will draw on other photos in the gallery.

Google Maps gains a power-saving mode. It keeps route notifications while extending battery life by up to four hours.

Google Maps

Google Maps also adds other changes, including an agent-builder and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server — a tool that connects AI assistants to technical documentation to help build interactive projects.

The first tool lets you describe a map-based prototype in text and have it built. For example, you can enter:

• create a city tour in Street View;
• generate a map that visualises real-time weather in a region;
• list pet-friendly hotels in a city.

It will generate code that can be exported.

The agent-builder allows you to create custom maps in a specific style.

The Grounding Lite feature lets developers ground their AI models via MCP — a standard that links assistants to external data sources.

As a result, digital assistants can answer questions such as “how far is the nearest grocery store?”

Investments

Google continues to expand its investment in artificial intelligence. The company said it plans to invest €5.5bn in computing resources and German operations over four years.

The planned spend includes two data centres in the Frankfurt region.

European countries are seeking to prioritise data centres, as leaders on the continent fear falling behind in AI technologies. The European Commission has urged companies to develop gigafactories — data centres capable of training and sustaining complex LLMs.

Google characterised the investment as part of its “steadfast commitment to Europe”.

An announcement-heavy November

In November, Google sharpened its focus on artificial intelligence, rolling out a raft of updates and new features across its services.

The company announced an AI upgrade to Maps using Gemini, letting users ask the bot questions and assign tasks.

During a trip you can ask Gemini about sights along the route or discuss other topics — such as sport or the news. You can also have the AI perform specific actions, such as adding an event to your calendar.

Alongside the Maps improvements, Google streamlined access to AI Mode on mobile devices. A dedicated button now sits beneath the search bar when opening a new tab in Chrome.

It also emerged that Apple and Google are preparing a deal under which the former would pay the search giant $1bn a year for integrating Gemini into Siri.

Google unveiled a plan for a space-based AI hub — it will build a constellation of satellites in Earth orbit to harvest solar power and feed data centres.

The proposed system would operate in a sun-synchronised, continuously illuminated band of low Earth orbit, where devices could receive near-continuous sunlight and maximise energy collection.

Earlier, the company launched new features in AI Mode that help with booking event tickets and scheduling health and wellness appointments.

In October, Google began developing AI agents to control nuclear fusion.