I Gave Gemini My Search History, And Now I’m Scared By How Well It Now Knows Me

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

Listen, I’ve seen all the movies, and every fiber of my being tells me that less is more when it comes to AI. I mean, the last thing I want is for something embedded through my apartment to go HAL 9000 on me and leave my cats wondering what went wrong. And yet, when Google allowed me to let Gemini browse through my search history to better understand me as a user, I signed right up. Here’s why.

Why on Earth did you give Gemini your entire search history?

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

As established, I know I don’t want an AI assistant to take over my life — not even Google Assistant. I don’t want to give it control over my smart lights or smart locks, and there’s not much that Google will do to change that. However, I’m all for having a chatbot that I can ask questions to and receive tailored answers from, and that’s pretty much what the Gemini with personalization experiment is designed to do. I’ve already run the searches through Google, but this is just giving someone (or rather something) that’s not me a chance to put them into context.

Besides, as far as privacy options go, the information that Gemini gets access to and how it uses it is reasonably transparent from Google. Not only is the experiment currently opt-in — which means you can opt-out at any time — but Gemini will also give you very clear notice when you connect it to your search history. From there, it will only use your search history when you toggle down to Personalization mode, and it won’t rely on previous searches if you ask a simple question like “What are the most popular dog breeds in America?”

I’m glad Gemini is only looking at my search history some of the time… for now.

In the future, Google plans to give Gemini with personalization access to other services and extensions, like your Photos and YouTube histories, which will allow it to bring even more information into your chats and give you even more detailed answers. I’m not sure if I’ll stay fully onboard for that long — something about letting Gemini go through my pictures and videos feels even more personal than the random things I search on Google — but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Also, there are still a few limits on how to access Gemini with personalization and who can actually test it out. It’s currently restricted to personal Google accounts, which means that Education and Workspace users will have to wait a bit longer for access. Google is also activating Gemini with personalization on web browsers first, with a mobile rollout to follow, so I’ve largely been using it through Safari on my MacBook Air.

Anyway, let’s get to my impressions of using a chatbot that knows me just as well as I know myself.

How well did Gemini with personalization work as a research tool?

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Putting my reservations about having an AI assistant who knows me too well to the side, I decided to put my newly personalized Gemini to the test. Besides, just because Gemini can now see everything I’ve ever — at least I think ever — searched doesn’t mean that I know how it’s going to use that information. So, I started with a straightforward question that should give Gemini plenty of searches to work with: “What soccer team should I start rooting for?” Then, I pressed Enter and opened the Show Thinking dropdown to watch Gemini do its work.

After rattling off an incredibly long list of teams that I’d previously searched for — as well as tons of teams that had only appeared while checking league standings — and taking many of my previous Baltimore-related searches into account for geographic relevance, Gemini had two answers for me: The local third-tier NISA side, Baltimore City FC, and Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union.

Although Gemini accurately ran through many of my soccer interests, I’m not sure it settled on the most practical teams to start following.

Interestingly, only one of those answers impressed me, Baltimore City FC, as I didn’t know my city has an amateur soccer team (NISA isn’t recognized as professional by US Soccer as of 2025). The reason, however, that I’m less impressed by Gemini recommending the Philadelphia Union to me is because I already follow the Union and have previously attended a match or two. It’s also not the closest MLS side to me, with DC United much more accessible by car or train. Also, it would have been nice for Gemini to show some love to the NWSL despite my issues with its streaming setup.

Anyway, with a halfway decent answer under its belt, I decided to give Gemini with personalization a bit of a tougher test. Right now, I’m a distance runner without a race to run, so I wanted to see if Gemini could provide any recommendations. Not only that, though, I want to turn said race into a bit of a vacation, so I want other things to do while I’m there. So, I opened up a new chat and started the conversation with, “What marathon or half marathon could I use as the basis for a vacation this summer?” I again opened the Show Thinking tab and waited to see what information Gemini needed.

Surprisingly, Gemini didn’t offer nearly as long of a list of searches as reference points, instead walking me through several of its own Google results. It accurately picked out that I’m in Baltimore — as we’ve established — so it decided to avoid local races and those in neighboring states, instead choosing to suggest a long list of European options because of the strong soccer culture in most European countries. Gemini’s top three picks included the Copenhagen Half, the Paris Half, and the Berlin Half, though two are in early Spring, which might be a bit tight for me to make travel arrangements.

So, with the original three options off the table, Gemini had its own follow-up questions for me, including whether I preferred a full or a half marathon and whether I wanted to run past specific scenery. I responded that I preferred a half marathon and was open to trail running, which sent back a brand-new set of options, mostly situated in Switzerland and Austria.

Then, I picked one out and asked for some running shoe recommendations — a topic I’ve spent more than my share of time researching. Gemini gave back two sets of results, some based on general searches and some based on my preferences, and left me to make my final decisions. Neither set of results was bad, though the section based on my searches was more specific, recommending Hoka’s Speedgoat 6 rather than simply suggesting something like Saucony’s Peregrine series.

So, was Gemini with personalization more helpful than Gemini on its own?

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

I’ll admit I’m somewhat surprised by Gemini with personalization — not because it was perfect, but because it behaved like Google said it would. Despite having access to my entire search history, it didn’t tailor its answers exclusively to my interests, especially in the case of recommending shoes for a trail race. If I wanted to, I could probably press Gemini further on things to do surrounding my chosen trail race, as well as a bit more on the soccer culture in the area, but I was happy enough to establish a baseline of what Gemini knew and what it didn’t.

I’d go so far as to admit that I’m far less creeped out by Gemini with personalization than I thought I’d be. I’m not sure I love how many Baltimore-related search terms it rattled off while I was asking about which soccer team to support, yet it never felt like it was using my exact location, either — mainly just a relative area. I also don’t think I’m quite ready to give Gemini further control over some parts of my smart home just yet, but I’ll be glad to see Gemini with personalization come to my Pixel 9 Pro so that I can ask the same type of questions and get very in-depth answers even when I’m not around my laptop.