Google tests Ask Gemini integration in Play Books

Google is also working to deeply integrate its Gemini assistant into Google Play Books, potentially transforming how people read and study on their phones. Hints in a beta build point to an “Ask Gemini” button when text is highlighted, suggesting one-tap summaries, plain-language explanations, and context-based sharing without having to leave the page.

What the latest Play Books APK beta reveals so far

In the Google Play Books & Audiobooks v2025.11.29.2 beta, a new selection menu entry called “Ask Gemini” resides beside the Define option when a word, sentence, or paragraph is selected. It doesn’t work properly yet, but judging from the UI, it looks like it will bubble up reader-centric insights related to the specific passage you’re highlighting. It’s also unknown if the response panel will be a standalone feature within Play Books or hand off to another dedicated Gemini app.

The integration dovetails with Google’s general plan to weave Gemini throughout its core experiences, from smart generation in Gmail and Docs to rich answers in YouTube and Circle to Search. If Play Books continues in that vein, it should provide a subtle overlay with appropriate explanations and citations, without taking you out of the reading flow.

How AI assistance in Play Books could change how we read

These days, readers may simply paste excerpts into an AI app to receive a summary or a translation. Ask Gemini condenses this down to a single click. Think of a paragraph in a book like history or U.S., and when you highlight text, your device shows you superimposed (or instead) notes that mention other sources related to that material. In literary fiction, it might flag character motivation or themes. In the case of technical or academic texts, it may reword jargon, create examples, or draw in definitions and formulas that you can verify.

If Google applies some of the best practices from its other products, answers might include page references, excerpts or quotes directly from the book, and labeled external context. That matters, because long-form reading values accuracy over flourish; hallucinations that are only annoying on chat services become unsalvageable in textbooks and scientific titles.

Study tools that go beyond highlights inside Play Books

Students and true readers of non-fiction have the most to gain. The gems could provide so much more, morphing into flashcards with spaced-repetition prompts, chapter-level summaries, and that day’s quiz question. Education researchers have long favored active recall and self-explanation as methods for enhancing retention; an in-reader assistant that prompts you to put a concept into words rather than simply providing the answer could benefit study time.

Language learners could also derive benefits: Ask Gemini might provide translations, usage notes, and grammatical analysis of sentences on demand — serving as a next-generation dictionary that spans one word or multi-sentence passages.

On-device versus cloud processing and reader privacy concerns

A major part of the design decision will be whether this feature is on-device, as Gemini Nano is, versus sending snippets to the cloud. Google already does on-device summarization in apps like Recorder on capable phones, and doing the same processing in Play Books would instill confidence among privacy-minded readers and cut latency. Cloud processing would permit more elaborate reasoning, and a greater return to plugs of knowledge as the regurgitation engine, but then we have the age-old problem about what gets saved (if anything), along with questions about DRM annoyances and publisher rights.

Look for guardrails and transparency about how text is processed and whether it leaves the device, especially in tightly regulated, privacy-protecting regions.

• Consent screens
• Clear labeling on AI-generated content
• Accessible opt-out controls

What about audiobooks and how Ask Gemini could assist

And because the app also supports audiobooks, an Ask Gemini overlay could provide short summaries of the last part you listened to, cast lists, or topic introductions — no timeline scrubbing required.

The Audio Publishers Association has tracked a half-decade of growth in listening and sales, but smarter in-app comprehension tools could accelerate that by making large nonfiction titles easier to navigate.

Competitive landscape and potential impact on publishers

Amazon’s Kindle has long supported features like X-Ray, Word Wise, and popular highlights, but it does not have a built-in conversational assistant within the reading pane itself. If done right, Ask Gemini would lend Google’s bookstore a unique asset that is especially crucial for study and professional reading. That said, anything that seeks to excerpt content for analysis is going to have to deal with licensing terms. Publishers will demand tight caps, clear attributions, and revenue-safe patterns of use.

For readers, this promises less friction. We all know, because the Pew Research Center tells us, that about a third of U.S. adults have read an ebook in the last year, and we also know that the share preferring to read on mobile devices is increasing (Side note: which makes me wonder if in 10 years or so books will be mostly written, let alone curated and tested for ADHD-addled apple-lickers)? Connecting context, summary, and explanation to the margin could help make phones and tablets feel less like a compromise read and more like the right place for those of us who have ambitious material we need to cram through on the go.

When you might be able to try Ask Gemini in Play Books

The existence of text strings and UI hooks in a current beta indicate the feature is nearly ready, but Google frequently stages rollouts behind server-side switches. It may appear on certain devices with on-device AI implementations or on updated Android versions initially, before reaching mass availability. If and when Ask Gemini comes, quickly highlighting a paragraph in Play Books could become the fastest way to get answers.