Gemini’s new Personal Intelligence feature feels like a major leap forward—yet it’s also a reminder of how far AI still has to go. On paper, it’s impressive: the AI now proactively accesses your Gmail, Calendar, Photos, and search history to provide context-rich, personalized responses—without you having to explicitly ask. It’s opt-in, customizable, and currently available only to AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in beta. What’s changed is the shift from reactive to proactive. Previously, you had to prompt Gemini to check your calendar or email. Now, if a conversation suggests you might want to find an old email about a concert ticket, it just does it. That’s a game-changer. It means the AI isn’t just a chatbot—it’s becoming a real assistant that understands your life in context. The results are often spot-on. When asked to suggest books based on my interests, the recommendations were uncannily accurate. A follow-up about lawn care led to a full plan: native plant suggestions, calendar reminders, and a shopping list in Google Keep. A few months ago, this would have been impossible. Now, it works—almost too well. But the magic quickly unravels when details matter. I asked Gemini to recommend neighborhoods for a photography outing with a coffee stop. It correctly excluded Ballard, where I used to live, but then listed a restaurant in South Park as being in Georgetown—wrong. It claimed Caffe Umbria was in the Old Rainier Brewery building, which doesn’t exist. And it enthusiastically recommended a T-shirt shop that’s clearly closed, according to Google Maps. These errors aren’t minor. They’re the kind that make you question the entire system. One wrong address or outdated business listing can derail a plan. And the fact that Gemini confidently presents these inaccuracies—sometimes with links to maps that don’t match—feels risky. Then there’s the privacy factor. Hearing my husband and child’s names spoken aloud during a conversation, even if they’re in my email or calendar, is jarring. It’s one thing to know the data is accessible; it’s another to hear it used so casually. Still, I can’t deny the value. Personal Intelligence makes Gemini feel more useful—just enough to shift my behavior. I might not use it to plan my entire weekend, but I’d use it to brainstorm ideas or get a starting point. The real benefit may be in overcoming inertia: getting a rough plan from Gemini could be enough to push me to take action, even if I end up adjusting it later. That’s not a bad thing. But it’s also not a perfect tool. For now, I’ll keep using it—but with a healthy dose of skepticism. I’ll let it help, but I’ll always double-check. Because in the end, the AI’s job isn’t just to be smart. It’s to be trustworthy. And that’s still a work in progress.