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How to Set Gemini as Default Assistant on Android

Set Gemini as your default digital assistant on Android, map the power button, and turn Hey Google on or off from official steps.

September 23, 2026 Yum News

Gemini only behaves like the phone assistant when two settings agree: the Google app is the default digital assistant, and Gemini is the Google assistant you selected. Miss either one and the power button, corner swipe, or “Hey Google” still opens something else.

This guide follows Google’s Gemini Apps Help pages. Menu names vary by Pixel, Samsung, and other skins, so use Settings search when a path does not match.

What you need first

Install or update the Gemini app from Google Play. Sign in with the same Google account you use for the Google app.

Google’s get-started page states that Gemini as the mobile assistant requires the Google app to be the device default assist app. “Google” in Default apps covers both classic Assistant and Gemini. You still pick Gemini inside Google’s own assistant settings.

On some phones Gemini is already the primary assistant. Open the Gemini app once and accept the switch screen if it appears.

Set the Google app as the digital assistant

Open Settings.
Tap Apps, then Default apps.
Tap Digital assistant app, then Default digital assistant app (wording can differ).
Choose the Google app.

If you cannot find the screen, search Settings for digital assistant or default apps. That search is the method Google’s community managers recommend because manufacturers rename the menu.

Leaving this on None or on another vendor assistant blocks Gemini from the power button and from system gestures, even if the Gemini app works when you open it by icon.

Person holding an Android phone and tapping through settings

Switch Google’s assistant from Assistant to Gemini

Google documents two official paths. Use the one your build still shows.

From the Google app

Open the Google app.
Tap your profile picture, then Settings, then Google Assistant.
Tap Digital assistants from Google.
Select Gemini and follow the on-screen prompts.

From device Settings

Open Settings.
Tap Apps, then Assistant (or search Digital assistants from Google).
Tap Digital assistants from Google, then Gemini.
Finish the confirmation screens.

Some builds also offer the switch inside the Gemini app: profile picture, then Switch when Google Assistant is still selected.

Google has been moving eligible phones off classic Assistant. If your device already completed that upgrade, you may only see Gemini on this screen. You can still remove Gemini as the system default later without deleting the app.

Launch Gemini with the buttons you already use

After both defaults are set, Google lists these activation methods:

Say “Hey Google” if Voice Match is on.
Press and hold the power or side button when that gesture is mapped to the digital assistant.
Touch and hold Home on three-button navigation.
Swipe up from a bottom corner on gesture navigation.
Open the Gemini app icon.

On many Pixels and Samsung phones the long-press power action is labeled Digital assistant. That action opens whichever app sits in Default apps, not a hard-coded Gemini binary.

To ask about the current screen, long-press power while the page, image, or YouTube video is open, then tap Ask about this screen or Ask about this video when the chip appears.

For browsing help that stays inside Chrome instead of the overlay, use How to Use Gemini in Chrome on Android.

Map or unmap the power button

Google’s manage-or-delete article treats the power button as a separate control from the default-app picker.

Open Settings.
Search for power button, side button, or gestures.
Open Press & hold power button (Pixel path: System → Gestures → Press & hold power button).
Choose Digital assistant if you want the long-press to open Gemini.
Choose Power menu if you want shutdown and restart instead.

Samsung and Xiaomi skins nest the same idea under side-key or gesture-shortcut pages. The official advice is the same: search Settings rather than hunting a Pixel-only path.

Android phone on a desk next to a notebook during a setup session

Turn “Hey Google” on or off

Voice launch is independent of the default-app setting. You can keep Gemini as the assistant and still silence the hotword.

Google’s help page for managing Gemini on Android points you to Talk to Gemini hands-free and the Hey Google toggle. A common 2026 path is:

Open Settings → Google → All services.
Open Search, Assistant & Voice, then Gemini.
Tap Talk to Gemini hands-free.
Turn Hey Google on or off and complete Voice Match if you enable it.

You can also start from the Gemini app: profile → settings related to voice. If the hotword does nothing after you enable it, Google says to confirm Voice Match is trained and that microphone permission is granted to the Google and Gemini apps.

Turn the hotword off in shared rooms, on a work desk, or anytime a TV ad can wake the phone.

Keep the app but stop surprise pop-ups

You do not have to uninstall Gemini to quiet it. Google lists these controls on one help page:

Change or clear the default digital assistant app.
Remap the power / side button away from Digital assistant.
Turn off Hey Google.
Turn off Gemini on lock screen if you do not want the overlay while the device is locked.

To point the system assistant at nothing:

Settings → Apps → Default apps → Digital assistant app.
Tap Default digital assistant app.
Select None or another installed assistant.

Google notes that the list still shows Google when either Assistant or Gemini is the Google-side choice. Clearing the system default is what stops the gesture. Deleting the Gemini app alone does not reset Default apps.

Privacy checks before you leave setup

Gemini Intelligence features that automate apps are opt-in. Google’s May 2026 security post states that connecting Gemini to Autofill is opt-in, that app automation is limited to apps you allow, and that purchases should require confirmation.

Do this on a personal phone, not a shared family profile:

Review connected apps inside Gemini settings.
Leave Personal Intelligence off until you read the data list.
Confirm lock-screen access matches how you use the device in public.

Agent-style flows across apps are covered in How to Use Gemini Intelligence on Android. Set the default assistant first; those features assume Gemini can already take the system assist role.

Troubleshooting

Power button still shows the power menu. The gesture is not mapped to Digital assistant, or a manufacturer side-key setting overrides it. Search Settings for side button or power.

Hey Google opens nothing. Voice Match is off, the microphone permission is denied, or the Google app is not the default digital assistant.

Gemini app works, gestures do not. Default apps still point at None or a third-party assistant. Fix that screen first.

You want classic Assistant back. Where Google still offers the choice, open Gemini → profile → Switch to Google Assistant. On phones that completed the Assistant-to-Gemini upgrade, that toggle may be gone. Use None plus a remapped power button if you only want to stop the overlay.

Conclusion

Treat Gemini setup as three switches, not one install: default digital assistant = Google, Digital assistants from Google = Gemini, then power button and Hey Google set to the behavior you actually want.

Change those later without deleting the app. Google documented the Default apps picker, the power-button gesture, the hotword toggle, and lock-screen control for exactly that reason.