Technologies

Google TV Adds Gemini AI Integration So You Can Talk to Your Television

Now, you can ask your TV to remind you which hot medical drama everyone is talking about. (Spoiler: It’s The Pitt.)

Google TV now incorporates the company’s Gemini AI, allowing viewers to converse with their smart television sets. You can ask for show recommendations, request summaries of past seasons or even seek homework help and recipes, the company said in a blog post on Monday.

Gemini for TV works similarly to how the AI assistant works on mobile and tablets. Using conversational language, you can activate Gemini and ask the AI assistant a host of questions. The same «Hey, Google» command activates Gemini.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Google’s blog post says that couples can ask Gemini to help find a movie to watch, sharing that one person likes dramas while the other likes comedies. It’s also possible to ask for a recap on the last season of The Witcher or even vague questions, such as, «What’s the new hospital drama everyone’s talking about?»

Gemini for TV is currently out on the TCL QM9K and will arrive later this year to the Google TV streamer, Walmart on 4K streamer, Hisense U7/U8/UX and 2025 TCL QM7K/QM8K/X11K TV models.

A representative for Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for further comment.

Google’s shift toward AI

Gemini in Chrome is the latest in a long string of AI integrations by the internet search giant.

Recently, Google brought Gemini to Chrome and gave creators Veo 3 AI video generation tools to YouTube creators. The company is essentially shifting from being an online search company to being an AI company, although machine learning has been a part of the Google stack for years.

But Google’s shift toward AI comes with issues, as publishers deal with AI answering queries at the top of Search, celebrities deal with deepfakes and companies flood the internet with more AI-generated content.

Despite the potential human and environmental costs of AI, Google’s valuation has ballooned, making it the fourth company ever to hit a $3 trillion market valuation. Wall Street is rewarding tech companies handsomely, seeing Big Tech and AI as relatively safe investments during ongoing market uncertainty — even though some investors are beginning to sour on AI hype.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 16, #889

Here are some hints — and the answers — for the NYT Connections puzzle for Nov. 16, #889.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a fun one. As a pop-culture junkie and game lover, I enjoyed the purple category. If you need help sorting the answers into groups, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Different strokes for different folks.

Green group hint: Ho-hum.

Blue group hint: Flags often qualify.

Purple group hint: Do not pass Go.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Technique.

Green group: Run-of-the-mill.

Blue group: Stripy things.

Purple group: Words on Monopoly squares.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is technique. The four answers are approach, method, philosophy and school.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is run-of-the-mill. The four answers are banal, everday, humdrum and pedestrian.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is stripy things.The four answers are barcode, IBM logo, rugby shirt and zebra.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is words on Monopoly squares. The four answers are avenue, parking, railroad and tax.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 16 #623

Here are hints — and answers — for the NYT Strands puzzle for Nov. 16, No. 623.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is tough. It’s a weird theme, and some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Around it goes.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: They’re often on a roll.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

CARE, SCARE, CRASS, SWAT, PELL, HELL, SCAR, HALT, STENT, HALTS, TENT, POLL, LOTS

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

FOIL, SCARF, SHAWL, STOLE, FLATBREAD, CELLOPHANE

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THATSAWRAP. To find it, start with the T that’s three letters up from the bottom of the far-left row, and wind down, over and then up.