Google brings Personal Intelligence to Gemini in SA

Recharged, 17/04/2026 2 min read

After launching in the US, Google has now brought its Personal Intelligence feature to Gemini users in South Africa.

It is an opt-in feature that reads information from other apps, such as Gmail, Google Photos, YouTube, Search, etc, to make Gemini a more unique experience for the user.

The main purpose of the Personal Intelligence, as explained by Google, is “reasoning across complex sources and retrieving specific details from, say, an email or photo to answer your question”. It often combines these, working across text, photos and video to provide uniquely tailored answers.

If you’re wondering about privacy, which is a major concern, the company explains that connecting apps is off by default: “you choose to turn it on, decide exactly which apps to connect, and can turn it off anytime.”

Only if enabled, Gemini will access your data to answer your specific requests and do things for you. It will also reference or explain the information used from your connected sources to verify it, explains Google.

“We also have guardrails for sensitive topics. Gemini aims to avoid making proactive assumptions about sensitive data like your health, though it will discuss this data with you if you ask.”

Google says users can adjust settings, disconnect Google apps or delete their chat history at any time, should one feel uncomfortable giving its AI access to their data.

How to get Google Personal Intelligence

The experience is being rolled out to personal Google accounts for its eligible Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra subscribers, with plans to bring it to its free users in the coming weeks.

Once enabled, it will work across Web, Android and iOS and with all the models from the Gemini picker, explains Google.

If users don’t see the invitation to try it on the home screen of Gemini, it can be turned on in Settings: