Gemini now reads your Google Wallet and bank accounts

Gemini can now see your spending. It still can't spend a cent.

Google Wallet is now a connected app inside Gemini's Personal Intelligence, Google said on Nov. 13. It is rolling out to every Gemini app user in the US, on the web and in the Android and iOS apps. You can also link credit card and bank accounts to Wallet through Plaid, which gives Gemini more to read.

What Gemini can see, and what it can't touch

Personal Intelligence already draws on Gmail, Photos, YouTube and Search, according to Google. Wallet joins that list. You call it by tagging @Google Wallet in a prompt.

Google's examples are practical. Ask Gemini to review last quarter's spending and chart your cash flow, asset allocation and budget. Have it find recurring subscriptions and flag the ones whose price went up. Ask it to look at last year's gift and travel spending and suggest a holiday budget.

Google puts the limit in writing. Gemini can only read your account information. It cannot move, manage or invest your money.

Read-only is the right first step

Same day, two different bets. OpenAI's ChatGPT Wallet lets an agent spend for you. Google's version lets an assistant look and explain.

Read-only is the one most people should try first. A model that misreads a statement gives you a bad chart. A model that misreads a cart costs you money.

Here's the thing about the permission. Your receipts in Gmail plus your card and bank history make a fuller picture of your money than most people have handed any single app. That makes Gemini more useful, and it makes the switch worth a minute of thought before you flip it.

How to try it without regret

It's opt-in. You turn it on under Connected Apps in Personal Intelligence settings, and you can switch it off at any time, Google says.

Start with the subscription audit. It's the example most likely to pay for your time this week.

Link Plaid only if you want the deeper read. That's the step that puts your bank and card accounts in the loop.

Then check what Gemini kept. Memory Summary, under Profile, then Personal Intelligence, shows the preferences, interests and goals Gemini has saved, and you can review, edit or delete them, according to Google.

Watch for the write button

Read-only is where this starts. The version worth watching is the one that can pay a bill or cancel a subscription for you, and how Google asks your permission when it does.

Until then, ask it where your money went. Then cancel something.