Google I/O 2025: Google Showcases Next-Gen Universal AI Assistant That Can Control Your Smartphone

Google has unveiled Project Astra, an ambitious initiative aimed at creating a "universal AI assistant" capable of understanding context, formulating plans, and executing actions on behalf of users within the Android ecosystem. This project was showcased during Google I/O 2025, where its potential to streamline tasks and save time was demonstrated.

In a demonstration, Astra assisted with a bike repair by navigating through a manual, locating a YouTube tutorial, and potentially contacting a shop. This was achieved through an AI agent that controls Android apps by simulating screen inputs. The demonstration highlighted the advanced yet developing capabilities of this technology.

AI Agent Capabilities

The AI agent developed by Google can automate actions within Android apps. During the demo, it opened a PDF, scrolled to find the requested page, launched the YouTube app, and searched for relevant videos. This showcases Google's progress in creating an AI that can control an Android phone.

When Astra operates the phone, a small circular overlay appears on the left side of the screen. As it scrolls or taps, users can see simulated screen inputs. The presence of a screen recording chip and glowing overlay suggests Astra reads screen content before deciding where to tap or swipe.

Gemini Chatbot Evolution

Google's Gemini chatbot has evolved significantly since its debut in late 2023. Initially struggling with basic tasks like setting reminders, it now chains actions across services and answers questions about what's on your phone's screen or camera. In the future, Gemini may even control your Android phone to search documents and open apps for information retrieval.

The demonstration also revealed that Google's AI agent is not yet ready for public release. Portions of the video showing the agent were sped up by a factor of two, indicating that it currently operates slowly. However, this development marks progress towards achieving Google's vision of a universal AI assistant.

Project Astra's Future

No current AI assistant can perform all these tasks without some user intervention. However, Google offers various independent AI features that could be combined to achieve this feat. Project Astra's latest prototype demonstrates how these features might work together seamlessly in the future.

The new capabilities demonstrated might not be available immediately but are expected to be released eventually in some form. As updates continue for Project Astra, Gemini becomes more appealing as new features are anticipated to enhance its functionality over time.

While it's unclear if Astra performs these actions on-device using the multimodal Gemini Nano model, it's evident that further development is needed before rolling out this Android AI agent widely. Despite this, each update brings Google closer to realising its vision for an all-encompassing AI assistant.