Summary
I don’t like typing the same prompt into Gemini every day just to get the information I want. That’s why I set up automations in Gemini so it can do it for me, and I just wait for it to arrive. Having used them for a while, now I know for sure that they save me a lot of time. Most of these use Gemini’s Scheduled Actions. To set one up, tap your profile picture and go to Scheduled actions. That’s where you can add what you want Gemini to do, pick when it should run, and save it. I have Gemini check my inbox, calendar, and tasks every morning It found what mattered without much setup I set this up to save as much time as possible in my morning routine. So I had Gemini check my Gmail, Calendar, and Tasks for me and, afterward, give me a rundown of what my day looked like. When it finished, I got a notification on my phone that my daily priority summary was ready. I tapped it, and Gemini opened the same chat with the prompt I used to create the automation, plus the summary underneath. It said I didn’t have any appointments today or tomorrow, and no unread emails I needed to reply to. That’s where this started to feel useful. Instead of opening three different apps and figuring out what mattered, Gemini had already done the first check and put everything I needed in one place. I also saw suggested prompts to have Gemini read through those emails or draft replies. With that automation, my chaotic morning routine got a little easier. Gemini can track a topic and send me daily updates It caught an update before I did If you like a topic and want to stay informed about it, this is an automation you should set up. I wanted the latest information from the past 24 hours, so I told Gemini to stick to Google sources and break it down into three sections: what changed, who gets it, and why it’s important. Gemini found two interesting stories. One was about changes to which Gemini models are available on different subscription plans. The other caught me off guard because it said Google is rolling out Skills, which will eventually replace Gems. I hadn’t seen that announcement yet, and that alone made the automation worth keeping. Gemini’s Daily Brief pulls together what I might otherwise miss It looked past today’s to-do list Daily Brief made getting the information I need each morning much easier, since I only had to wait for the notification that it was ready. At the top, Top of mind showed me things like calendar conflicts, reminders, emails, and even deadlines I had forgotten about, such as canceling my Photoshop subscription. I also liked how Gemini formatted the information, making it easy to scan. I saw options to open an email, mark something as complete, start a chat, or tap Remind me, which took me to Google Calendar to create the reminder. I didn’t expect the Looking ahead section to consider projects I’d been working on and suggest what I should do next. For example, it suggested outlining a project or brainstorming One UI tips I wanted to try. It also reminded me that I’d been looking into Photoshop and comparing phones. More importantly, it included details like project names, dates, and enough context to help me remember without looking them up. That made Daily Brief more useful than just a general summary of my day since it showed me what was already going on and what I might want to pick up next. Google only creates Daily Brief once a day, though; if anything changes during the day, you won’t see it until the next day. Google says that Daily Brief is currently only in the U.S., in English, and you need to be 18 or older. It’s still rolling it out, so you might not have it yet. You also need a Google AI Plus, Pro, or Ultra plan. Gemini can help me plan my weekend It found three new places without making me search around After I set up the scheduled action, Gemini showed me three places in the Echo Park area, covering dining, drinks, and local culture. I was low-key happy to have somewhere new to go this weekend. Each result included useful information like the website and business hours. In the prompt, I told Gemini to find three recently opened places in a specific area that looked worth visiting over the weekend. I asked for a mix of cafes, restaurants, attractions, or anything else interesting, along with any other useful information. I also told it not to guess if it couldn’t confirm the details, which made me a little more inclined to trust the results. At the bottom, Gemini gave me a few useful follow-up prompts, like building an itinerary around the area or finding more restaurants nearby. I’m still going to double-check the information before the weekend arrives, just in case something has changed, but this gets most of that annoying first round of searching out of the way. Gemini screen automation can handle tasks inside other apps I had it reorder my last Starbucks drink You can also try Screen automation to have Gemini do some of your tasks for you. For example, you can place an order while you’re multitasking and come back to it later. On the Galaxy S26 Ultra, I told Gemini to reorder my last Starbucks drink: a Venti iced coffee with light ice, a splash of half-and-half, and three pumps of Classic syrup, but I told it to stop before actually placing the order. Gemini found my previous order and rebuilt it. When it finished, I saw a review screen with a total of $5.25. It stopped right before I had to place the order. While I watched Gemini use Screen automation, the Take over and Stop task controls stayed at the bottom the whole time, so I could step in if it started doing something I didn’t ask for. The obvious downside is that the automation is still in beta, and you can only use it on phones like the Galaxy S26 series, Galaxy Z Flip 8, and Pixel 10+ models. If your phone supports it, you can use it to grab the last cup of joe you ordered. You can also have Gemini help order food or groceries or book a ride. Unlike scheduled actions, where you only get the final result, here you see the whole process step by step.