- Gemini’s Android overlay does not currently let you leave and resume without starting fresh each time.
- Google’s working on an update that collapses the overlay into a floating button that lets you resume your session.
- You can even navigate away while Gemini’s working on its results and be told when they’re ready.
2025 is the year many of us got comfortable using Gemini, and even as Google pushes back its timetable for moving everyone off of Assistant, those of us who have already made the transition know just how great Gemini’s been on mobile devices (while Home is a whole different story). We’ve got a ton of different ways to access it on our phones, from the Gemini app, to AI Mode in Search, but the easiest and most convenient has got to be calling up the Gemini overlay. For as much as we like having Gemini on demand like that, it looks like Google’s working on a change that could make this experience even better.
Right now, when you pull up the Gemini overlay with Google’s hotword or by long-pressing your power button, you’re basically locked in to working with Gemini until you’re done with it. While it may appear as an overlay, the second you tap on the background, it vanishes. And then the next time you call it up, you’re starting that interaction from scratch — there’s no way to go back and forth between Gemini and the app you were working in.