Feeling overwhelmed by a constant barrage of notifications on your Pixel phone? Imagine a world where AI intelligently condenses those endless pings into concise summaries, giving you back control of your attention. That’s the promise of Google’s new AI-powered notification summaries, a feature making its way to select Pixel devices. But here’s where it gets controversial: not all Pixel owners are invited to this party.
One of the coolest things about owning a Pixel is the regular “Pixel Drop” updates. These are like little gifts from Google, bringing fresh software features between major Android releases. The November Pixel Drop, in particular, is packed with goodies, most notably, AI-powered notification summaries. Sound familiar? iOS users have had something similar for a while.
Now, let’s be honest, the initial versions of AI notification summaries on iOS weren’t exactly a home run. They often missed critical details, leading to summaries that were either overly dramatic or just plain unhelpful. Some people even disabled them altogether! But they have improved over time. And this is the part most people miss: Google, with its strong AI background, might just have an edge here. Only time will tell if they can avoid the pitfalls that plagued Apple’s initial attempts.
So, how do these Pixel AI summaries work? They’re designed to kick in for popular messaging apps when you’re either bombarded with multiple messages or find yourself in the middle of a lengthy conversation. The goal is simple: to give you a quick overview of what’s being said without having to wade through every single message. Think of it as a TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) for your chats.
The feature appears to be rolling out via a server-side update, so don’t panic if you don’t see it on your phone immediately. It’s also disabled by default. Below, we’ll walk you through how to check if it’s available and how to turn it on when it finally arrives on your device.
Which Pixel phones are eligible for this AI upgrade?
Google generally does a pretty good job of bringing new features to older Pixel phones. However, AI notification summaries seem to be an exception. The feature is currently limited to the Pixel 9 series (excluding the 9a) and the Pixel 10 line. It’s also worth noting that, at launch, the feature is only available in English.
While the Pixel 8 did receive some AI-powered features during its lifespan, the Pixel 9 felt like Google’s first truly AI-focused phone. Therefore, the device restrictions, though disappointing for some, do make a certain amount of sense. Google seems to be focusing its AI efforts on its latest and greatest hardware.
Here’s how to enable notification summaries on your Pixel:
If the feature is available for your Pixel, you’ll find the option in the Manage section of your Notification settings. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Open your phone’s Settings app.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap Notification summaries.
- Toggle the Use notification summaries switch to the “on” position.
That’s all there is to it! Once enabled, you’ll start receiving summaries from supported messaging apps when conversations become too long or frequent.
Now, here’s a question for you: Do you think AI notification summaries are a genuinely useful feature, or just another gimmick? And, considering the privacy implications of AI analyzing your conversations, are you comfortable with Google having access to this data? Share your thoughts in the comments below!