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How to Use Gemini Task Automation on Galaxy Z Fold8

Run Gemini Intelligence task automation on Galaxy Z Fold8 and Flip8: start a job, track progress, confirm checkout, and use screen context.

September 27, 2026 Yum News

Gemini Intelligence can run multi-step jobs in supported apps while you keep using the phone. On Galaxy Z Fold8, Fold8 Ultra, and Flip8, Google expanded that beta from a handful of food and rideshare apps to more than 40 popular titles in the United States and Korea.

The agent still waits for your command. It still stops when the job ends. You still confirm the last tap on money, bookings, and tickets.

This guide uses Google’s Galaxy Unpacked 2026 post, the May Gemini Intelligence announcement, and the February multi-step task preview. It is a how-to for phones already in the current wave.

What Google shipped on the new foldables

In February 2026 Google previewed multi-step tasks in the Gemini app on Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, and Galaxy S26 in the U.S. and Korea. Early partners sat in food, grocery, and rideshare.

At Galaxy Unpacked on 22 July 2026, Google said task automation now covers more than 40 popular apps. Categories include shopping, dinner reservations, travel experiences, and event tickets. Footnotes limit the list to supported apps, devices, and markets. Users must be 18 or older. Supervise the run and interrupt it if it drifts.

On Galaxy Z Flip8 you can start the same assistant from the Flex Window by long-pressing the power button. On Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra you get the larger canvas, plus Gemini Notebook preinstalled for research that is not an app-automation job.

Every Fold8 Ultra, Fold8, and Flip8 includes a six-month Google AI Pro trial. That trial is for higher Gemini and Gemini Notebook limits. It is not the same switch as task automation. Automation availability still follows device, country, language, and installed apps.

Check that your phone can run a task

Do this before you hand Gemini a paid booking.

Update the Gemini app from Google Play.
Set Gemini as the default digital assistant if you want the power-button long press to open it.
Sign in with a personal Google account that is 18+.
Open Gemini Settings and look for a screen-automation or task-automation section. 9to5Google documented that list as showing only apps already installed.
Install the partner app you plan to use (rideshare, food, travel, tickets) and complete its own sign-in first.
Confirm you are in a country where Gemini and the feature are supported. Google’s Unpacked footnotes name the U.S. and Korea for the expanded app set.

If the settings page has no automation list, you are not in the current wave. Wait for the server flag. Do not hunt for a hidden developer toggle.

Folded Android phone on a wooden desk during a setup session

Start a task from the power button

Google’s February and May posts use the same trigger: long-press the power button, then speak or type the job.

Open the screen that holds context if you have it: a notes grocery list, a brochure photo, a ticket screenshot.
Long-press the power button. On Flip8 that can happen on the Flex Window.
Name the app when you know it. Example: “Reorder last night’s order on DoorDash.” Early coverage from TechCrunch listed DoorDash, Grubhub, Instacart, Lyft, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Uber, and Uber Eats in the U.S. launch set, plus Korean partners.
Or point at the screen. Google’s May example: long-press over a grocery list and ask Gemini to build a delivery cart. Another official example: photograph a travel brochure and say, “Find a tour like this on Expedia for a group of six.”
Stay on the confirmation sheet until Gemini shows it understood the goal, the app, and any budget or time limits you stated.

Keep the prompt specific. “Get dinner” is weaker than “Order the usual spicy sandwich from the last Uber Eats restaurant, no extras, stop before payment.”

Watch the virtual window, then take the phone back

Google runs the partner app in a secure virtual window. The February post says Gemini only reaches limited apps, not the rest of the device. You can:

Watch step-by-step progress on screen.
Switch to another app while the job continues.
Close the cover on a Flip8 and let it run in the background.
Jump in, change one field, then hand control back.

Notifications track the run. Stop the task from that notification if the cart is wrong, the restaurant is closed, or the ride destination is off.

Gemini is designed to pause for your review before the final confirmation. 9to5Google’s S26 testing found it would add items to a cart and not complete checkout on its own. Treat that as the safe default. Never assume a later wave will press Pay without you.

Person reviewing a phone notification while working at a laptop

Use screen and image context without dumping the whole camera roll

Unpacked added two inputs that matter on a foldable:

Screen context. Gemini can reason about what is already visible. Keep one list or one itinerary on screen. Hide banking apps and one-time codes before you invoke the assistant.
Complex images as prompts. A photo of a product, a flyer, or a handwritten list can start a shop or book flow. Frame one subject. Crop out other people’s faces when you can.

Do not feed the agent a photo that includes passwords, full card numbers, or medical documents. Task automation is not a vault.

If you only need a floating chat while you read Maps, that is a different feature. Use the overlay bubble covered in How to Minimize Gemini Overlay on Android instead of starting a virtual-window job.

What Gemini Notebook is for on the same phone

Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) ships preinstalled on the new foldables. On Fold8 you can drag photos, documents, whiteboard shots, and voice notes into a two-pane workspace, then chat against those sources or generate slides, flash cards, quizzes, videos, or a podcast.

That is research and study. It is not the same pipeline as DoorDash or Expedia automation. Keep the two tools separate:

Notebook when the source is yours and the output is a briefing or study pack.
Task automation when an installed partner app must tap through a cart or reservation.

The six-month Google AI Pro trial raises Notebook limits such as Audio Overviews, Video Overviews, and Slides. Confirm trial terms on the device. Google says the subscription auto-renews unless you cancel.

Safety rules Google published

Copy these into your own checklist. They come from the February task post and Unpacked footnotes.

Automations start only after your command and stop when the task finishes.
You can view, jump in, or stop from live notifications.
Work happens in a virtual window limited to supported apps.
Supervise closely. Interrupt when needed.
Feature availability varies by country, language, device, and age (18+).
Check every response and every cart before you confirm.

Do not use task automation for medical, legal, or emergency dispatch. Do not let it talk to a work-profile app from a personal Gemini session.

Troubleshooting

Power button still opens the power menu. Set the long-press to the digital assistant in system gestures, then retry.

Gemini answers with a web card instead of opening an app. The partner app is missing, signed out, or not on the supported list for your market.

No progress notification. Reopen Gemini, check that the task is still running, and stop it if it stalled on a login wall.

Wrong address or store. Jump in, fix the field, then hand control back. Do not confirm.

You left the U.S. or Korea. The expanded 40-app set is documented for those markets. Expect a smaller or empty list elsewhere.

Tips that keep runs short

Install and log into the partner app the night before you need it.
State budget, party size, and “stop before payment” in the first sentence.
Use one photo or one note, not a stack of screenshots.
Confirm the virtual window is the app you named. If Gemini opened the wrong storefront, stop.
After a good run, save the exact prompt in Keep. Reuse it.

For the broader Android 17 overlay and bubble model, see How to Use Android 17 App Bubbles. Bubbles float any app. Task automation drives one partner app through a scripted path.

Conclusion

On Galaxy Z Fold8, Fold8 Ultra, and Flip8, Gemini Intelligence task automation is the official way to hand off carts, rides, reservations, and tickets in supported apps. Long-press power, give a narrow command, watch the virtual window, and confirm the last step yourself.

Treat the 40-app expansion as a staged list, not a promise that every storefront on the phone will obey. When the list is empty, wait. When the cart looks wrong, stop. The feature is useful when you stay in the loop.