Google's AI-Powered Lifestyle App 'Dreambeans' Now Free in the US (9to5google.com) 31
Google's AI assistant Gemini crawls your Google apps for "more personalized suggestions," in a feature they call Personal Intelligence. Now when given permission, an Android/iOS app called Dreambeans "uses Personal Intelligence to connect information from Google apps like Gmail, Calendar, Photos, YouTube and Search History, to curate a finite collection of daily stories designed to spark new ideas." In a slick new video Google says the app will "surface what matters to you."
The blog 9to5Google notes that after previously requiring a subscription, Dreambeans "is now available for free Google Accounts in the US to test, calling it "very much like a hyper-personalized Google Now or Discover feed."
Instead of using stock imagery, each Dreambeans story is accompanied by Nano Banana 2-generated artwork that uses an illustrated style. For example, if Dreambeans recommends a hike, you might see yourself and a group of friends at that location... There's also an "Ask anything" chat experience to get more information. You can leave feedback by tapping the heart or downvoting, while the chat interface allows you to provide more details. "Tune your feed" lets you tell Dreambeans what you "want more stories about" and what it should never show.
Or, as TechCrunch senior writer Lucas Ropek puts it, you get a curated list of AI-illustrated "stories" that "will turn your life into a cartoon" [Gozde Oznur, the product lead behind the new app, told TechCrunch the app] has also been built as a doomscrolling antidote, in that it only provides users with a limited number of stories per day — typically 10 to 14. The idea is to get a few inspirational ideas and then go out and live your life, she said. A lot of companies are currently trying to court the user that is sick of phone addiction. I recently reviewed a startup, Bond, which also uses AI to auto-generate lifestyle suggestions for the user.
What about privacy protections? According to Oznur, they are pretty solid. The only person with access to the app's stories is the user, she said. Users can also delete their data whenever they want, and can choose which Google services they want to connect to the tool.
The blog 9to5Google notes that after previously requiring a subscription, Dreambeans "is now available for free Google Accounts in the US to test, calling it "very much like a hyper-personalized Google Now or Discover feed."
Instead of using stock imagery, each Dreambeans story is accompanied by Nano Banana 2-generated artwork that uses an illustrated style. For example, if Dreambeans recommends a hike, you might see yourself and a group of friends at that location... There's also an "Ask anything" chat experience to get more information. You can leave feedback by tapping the heart or downvoting, while the chat interface allows you to provide more details. "Tune your feed" lets you tell Dreambeans what you "want more stories about" and what it should never show.
Or, as TechCrunch senior writer Lucas Ropek puts it, you get a curated list of AI-illustrated "stories" that "will turn your life into a cartoon" [Gozde Oznur, the product lead behind the new app, told TechCrunch the app] has also been built as a doomscrolling antidote, in that it only provides users with a limited number of stories per day — typically 10 to 14. The idea is to get a few inspirational ideas and then go out and live your life, she said. A lot of companies are currently trying to court the user that is sick of phone addiction. I recently reviewed a startup, Bond, which also uses AI to auto-generate lifestyle suggestions for the user.
What about privacy protections? According to Oznur, they are pretty solid. The only person with access to the app's stories is the user, she said. Users can also delete their data whenever they want, and can choose which Google services they want to connect to the tool.
bah (Score:5, Funny)
I don't need Google's help to turn my life into a dismal cartoon.
Re: bah (Score:2)
Irony.
i reflect on the daze.
when applications only wanted to use your resources.
for bit code mining
Wow (Score:5, Insightful)
That's "wow" as in - "Wow, they've spent all those billions and this dreck is the best they can come up as a sales pitch for their AI product?"
Re:Wow (Score:4, Interesting)
Yeah, it bugs the shit out of me that we're basically burning down the amazon, and emptying out the aquifers* so a chatbot can hyper-surveil me to make dumb fucking suggestions I will do everything in my power to hide and ignore. And we COULD have spent that money on so many things that are actually socially useful.
Like, I dont mind at all if AI is used to make the world better. Drug discovery, solve some hard maths, shit like that. But it seems like *all* of the money is going on fucking marketing bots.
*And yes I know its a bit more complicated than "burn down the amazon and drain the aquifers". I'm being hyperbolic. Sue me.
Refreshing (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Quite refreshing. Some new sick, scary idea, that I can not directly recall from any dystopian novel, but it would fit nicely into many of them. It's like a preludy to "Being Inc" from Lem's "Perfect Vacuum" (which is a collection of reviews of imaginary books, so it doesn't count). And what an endless opportunity for selling your life to whomever pays more. "Suggestions" like "how about movie X", "new restaurant Y", "buy product Z", etc. Sweet!
Won't someone think of the children? Seriously, kids these days immediately turn to AI for answers to everything, just like oldsters would easily google stuff from their 'smartphones'. And kids tend not to hesitate to upload so much of their personal information, which tends to stick around forever.
And companies get hacked by motivated actors using evolving tools and technology. What can possibly go wrong?
Re: (Score:3)
To me it sounds like Google's version of Clippy.
Re: (Score:2)
To me it sounds like Google's version of Clippy.
Clippy only wanted to help.
GrapheneOS is seeming more and more appealing (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
because you know this bullshit is going to be on by default in no time.
Oddly enough, so far it's pretty easy to turn off.
I had to lose some genuinely useful functionality to do so though - Gmail used to surface things about packages arriving, etc., but that got pulled into the new AI layer and thus got turned off (by me).
Re: (Score:2)
Great new business opportunity! (Score:5, Funny)
Can I pay for a service that will keep this way the fuck off of my phone and computer?
Re: (Score:3)
Oh great (Score:2)
another echo chamber to isolate us from different opinions and reinforce our beliefs. As if we hadn't too much of that already!
Avoid Google because of its tracking (Score:4, Informative)
Governments need to enact and enforce No Tracking laws that make it the default, not an impossible dream.
Re: (Score:2)
I avoid buying or installing any product with Google shit in it because it is hard or even impossible to disable ANY fucking tracking of me by EVIL fucking Google. Governments need to enact and enforce No Tracking laws that make it the default, not an impossible dream.
Google's a lot like Facebook though. It doesn't matter if you've bought into the ecosystem, they'll be tracking you through shadow profiles if anyone that has your contact information has shoveled it into their Google Contacts. Isn't technology wonderful?
Not interested in anything google these days (Score:3)
A million years ago I thought there was probably some synergy between my gmail account and getting better, personalized search results. That never was realized, but oh well. I can't even recall the last time I used google for anything. I use Kagi for search now but even then it's use is pretty minimal. Now that the need for search engines is being replaced.... why would I ever use a google product? What value does the brand "google" even bring to the table in 2026? Other than Kagi I haven't been actively trying to "degoogle" but the lack of interesting or useful products is really striking for such a large company. The last thing I want is yet another google app yeeting marketing telemetry back to the google mothership.
turned right the fuck off (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like malware, bro.
Re: turned right the fuck off (Score:2)
Re: turned right the fuck off (Score:2)
Yeah, it's the AI assistant. But, tbh, holding the tabs has had the voice search function on Android for a long time.
Maybe... just don't tap and hold it anymore?
Re: turned right the fuck off (Score:2)
Just to clarify: tapping and holding the center tab on Android previously opened up the voice search. Google rolled it out to the AI search in the last few months and it became default this August.
Re: turned right the fuck off (Score:2)
What lies beneath (Score:3, Interesting)
Sounds like a Black Mirror episode :o (Score:2)
GOOD MORNING, GRAHAM. We've noticed you're eating alone.
Graham looks around.
“Yes.” Would you like to feel less alone?
“Yes.”
A photograph appears. Graham, age 23, drunk at university. Standing beside a woman he hasn't spoken to in twenty-two years.
We found someone you used to love. She is currently online.
Graham stares.
“That's horrible.”
Thank you!
A second notification appears.
Your feedback has been record
nano-bananao? (Score:2)
Dreambeans? (Score:2)
Surface? (Score:2)
Google says the app will "surface what matters to you."
Will it "surface" an end to Google raping our privacy and shoving LLMs up everybody's ass? No? Then it's not "surfacing" anything which matters to me.
This seems like the perfect tool for creating perfect tools who live in echo chambers of their own making and think their farts smell like roses.