Google TV is introducing Gemini as a conversational AI assistant to help find content and get more information about a favorite TV show or movie. Gemini on Google TV goes beyond the simple queries and commands of Google Assistant, which has been around since 2017, and allows “free-flowing conversations with your big screen,” the company explains. “Just say ‘Hey Google’ or press the microphone button on your TV remote” to tap into Gemini for TV to activate the new feature. Gemini is now available on the TCL QM9K series, with more TCL models coming onboard later this year. Google says additional functionality for Gemini on TV is coming soon.

Also in the pipeline for later this year is integration with older brands and devices, like the Google TV Streamer, the Walmart onn 4K Pro streaming device, 2025 Hisense U7, U8, and UX models, and 2025 TCL QM7K, QM8K, and X11K models, Google notes in its announcement.

“Gemini for TV works similarly to how the AI assistant works on mobile and tablets,” writes CNET, explaining that after activating Gemini you can now use conversational language to ask your TV a host of questions or for show recommendations, to request summaries of past seasons “or even seek homework help and recipes.”

ZDNet reports it “may be Google TV’s biggest update in years” and says there are many features that can be taken advantage of at no cost.

The concept of Gemini for Google’s TV operating system was first introduced at the January CES, where the pitch was that “Gemini could not only surface shows, movies, and channel recommendations across the TV’s catalog of streaming services and apps but also handle general inquiries like vacation planning and more,” according to ZDNet.

The goal is to make interacting with TV “an AI-driven experience that’s burdenless and easy to navigate (whether through text or speech),” transforming the television set “into the ultimate centerpiece,” ZDNet writes.

Yes, it’s a multimedia consumption device, but beyond that “a Gemini-enhanced TV should feel more like an interactive smart hub, an information resource that removes some of the friction from constantly picking up our smartphones,” ZDNet adds.

At a CES demo, a Google rep showed how you can use Gemini to have your TV “explain the solar system to a third grader,” which the AI assistant did, also suggesting some relevant YouTube videos, reports Engadget.