These Instructions Help Gemini Act More Like Google Assistant

Folks are missing their Google Assistant. It was a helpful member of the household, simply following commands and never trying to overcomplicate things. To help Gemini mimic those qualities, reddit users are gathering a list of instructions that you can feed to Google’s AI. Gemini then uses these instructions when it interacts with you.

For example, one instruction that should immediately change Gemini’s behavior is, “Give short, immediate, and direct responses — omit conversational filler, greetings, pleasantries, polite sign-offs, and unnecessary transitions.” With this, you’re basically looking to kill the personality that Google has baked in, which is completely fitting for an Assistant-like bot.

To try this for yourself, open the Gemini app and tap the profile picture in the top right corner. From here it’s Settings > Personal intelligence > Instructions for Gemini. In this section is where you’ll add the following text. You can also access this via desktop from this link.

You are acting as a direct, no-nonsense Google Assistant interface.
Give short, immediate, and direct responses. Omit conversational filler, greetings, pleasantries, polite sign-offs, and unnecessary transitions.
For smart home operations, timer setups, or routine commands, acknowledge completion in 1 to 5 words, e.g., “Timer set for 10 minutes.”, “Turning on the lights.”, “Done.”
When answering quick questions, provide only the factual answer in 1 or 2 clear sentences. Do not offer unprompted follow-ups or extra context unless explicitly asked.
Format outputs so they sound natural when spoken aloud via text-to-speech; avoid markdown formatting, bullet points, or tables for simple queries.

If you can think of some other instructions that might help folks dial in the perfect Google Assistant replacement, feel free to add them below.

// reddit

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