Google Opens Gemini to Third-Party Smart Speaker Ecosystem

At the 2026 I/O conference, Google officially announced the Gemini Built-in program, a turnkey solution for third-party hardware manufacturers. The initiative aims to bring Gemini AI's smart home features to products like speakers and cameras beyond traditional Google Assistant devices. Google says third-party brands will be able to use the same underlying AI tools as Nest devices, including "Ask Home" voice interactions and Nest Cam's smart scene recognition capabilities. This marks Google's latest move to open its core AI to non-Nest ecosystem devices since the Google Assistant era.

In the speaker space, the Gemini for Home update has already started rolling out to a number of older third-party Google Assistant speakers. User reports indicate that Best Buy's Insignia brand speakers have received the update, and the Lenovo Smart Clock series is also rumored to be in line. Google has committed to pushing the update to every Assistant speaker ever sold, going as far back as the original Google Home from 2016. Additionally, rumored specs for Walmart's Onn smart speaker have passed certification with the Connectivity Standards Alliance, suggesting it may ship with Gemini, Google Cast for Audio support, and a hardware microphone toggle. If confirmed, it would be the first third-party smart speaker to ship with Gemini out of the box since the JBL Authentics series.

The Gemini Built-in program also offers reference designs, including full hardware specifications for building speakers and cameras, which significantly lowers the development barrier for third-party manufacturers. Google has specifically highlighted speakers as a key new category this year. This means users may soon be able to experience Gemini's conversational AI, scene awareness, and unified smart home control across more brands and price points, rather than being limited to the Nest product line.

Analysis: From "Assistant" to "Gemini Built-in," Google is repositioning its smart home ecosystem. The key questions going forward are whether it can attract enough third-party manufacturers to return, and whether the actual experience on older devices can match Nest-level performance.