Gemini’s February 2026 Updates: Deep Think, Personal Intelligence, and What Actually Changes for You
Right, so Google’s just dropped a heap of updates to Gemini, and unlike a lot of AI announcements that feel a bit… fluffy, these ones actually do things. We’re talking a reasoning mode that’s proper clever, new ways to connect your apps, and integrations that could genuinely change how you work. I’ve spent the last few days having a suss around these features (and yes, this includes testing while sitting in the van with surprisingly decent Wi-Fi), so let’s break down what’s landed and why it matters.
Gemini 3 Deep Think: When You Need Your AI to Actually Think
Here’s the thing about most AI models: they’re fast. They’re brilliant at predicting the next word, generating content, answering quick questions. But when you throw something genuinely complex at them, something that doesn’t have a clear answer, they’ll happily give you confident nonsense.
Deep Think is different. It’s a mode built specifically for the hard problems. Science, research, engineering, the stuff where you need the AI to work through something methodically rather than just spitball an answer.
Google’s released some numbers here. Deep Think scored 48.4% on “Humanity’s Last Exam” (which is exactly what it sounds like: a benchmark designed to break frontier models), and 84.6% on ARC-AGI-2, which tests whether a model can actually adapt to new tasks instead of just regurgitating training data patterns.
Who this helps:
Researchers and scientists working through complex problems can point Deep Think at messy, incomplete data and get actual reasoning. Engineers tackling novel problems. Anyone building workflows that need AI to show its working, not just spit out answers. For developers, the API access through the early access programme means you can build agentic workflows that actually reason through problems instead of just predicting.
The catch: it’s available to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the Gemini app right now, and researchers and enterprises can apply for API access. It’s not a general release yet, which is fair enough given it’s a pretty hefty compute ask.
Personal Intelligence: Your Apps Actually Talking to Each Other (If You Let Them)
A few weeks back Google introduced the ability to connect Gemini to your other Google apps. Gmail, Photos, YouTube, Search. The idea is Gemini becomes more proactive because it actually knows what’s happening in your life.
This matters because, right, most AI assistants are reactive. You ask them something, they answer. But if Gemini can see your emails and your search history and your YouTube watch list, it can surface things you actually need without you asking.
What actually changed: Google built this with privacy as the foundation. Connecting apps is off by default. You choose what connects, you can turn it off whenever. No sneaky background data hoovering.
How this helps different people:
Content creators: Auto-analysis of your YouTube analytics without logging into another dashboard. Your Personal Intelligence can surface trending topics and competitive research across platforms. Consultants and service business owners: Research competitor offerings, track leads through email, grab context automatically when you’re writing proposals. Marketers: Pull performance data across apps, get summaries of campaign results without switching between five tabs. General knowledge workers: It’s just less switching. Your assistant actually knows what you’re working on.
Workspace Studio: Building Automations Without Learning Code
This one landed in the January updates but it’s worth mentioning because it properly changes the game for people who aren’t developers.
Workspace Studio lets you describe automations in plain English. Like, actually describe what you want, and the AI builds it. The example that got me was a consultant using it to automate competitor research workflows that used to take hours.
Practical stuff: real estate agents could automate property listing updates and client follow ups. Service businesses (plumbers, coaches, whoever) could automate booking confirmations and resource allocation. Content creators could batch-process images, organise assets, generate captions.
Gemini Integration with Apple Siri: Your Phone’s Assistant Gets Smarter
Apple announced they’re rolling out Gemini-enhanced Siri in beta for iOS users starting mid-February. This is basically Siri having a brain transplant.
The improvement: better understanding of what’s on your screen, context awareness, more natural back-and-forth conversation. The current Siri works if you treat it like you’re shouting commands at a brick. This version should actually understand what you’re looking at and what you’re trying to do.
Who cares: anyone with an iPhone who’s ever been frustrated by Siri’s limitations. It’s not a game changer for power users, but it closes a gap that’s been annoying for years.
What’s Actually New vs What’s Just Noise
Look, Google’s released a lot of Gemini stuff over the past month. Here’s what actually moved the needle:
- Deep Think reasoning mode: Proper shift in capability for complex problems
- Personal Intelligence: More contextual, useful assistance without creepy data harvesting
- API access for developers: You can build actual reasoning into workflows
- Siri integration: Makes your phone’s assistant less useless
The rest is refinement and rollout. Good updates, sure, but not the kind that change your workflow.
How This Actually Affects Your Work
I was testing some of this last week (van life research break included a proper dive into Deep Think), and here’s what stands out:
If you’re a developer or builder, you’ve got tools that weren’t available before. You can integrate reasoning into systems. You can build with apps talking to each other. That’s real.
If you’re a content creator or marketer, you’ve got less manual research and more actual intelligence. Pull analytics, research competitors, generate briefs. It’s like hiring an intern who actually reads what you write instead of just nodding.
If you’re on the business end of things, your team has fewer context switches and fewer repetitive tasks. That frees up space for the work that actually matters.
The privacy thing I’ll mention again because it matters: you’re not forced into anything. You connect what you want, when you want. That’s the opposite of how most AI integrations work.
The Gaps
Deep Think is still limited access. If you’re not an Ultra subscriber, you’re waiting. The Apple Siri integration is beta, so give it a few weeks before it’s solid. And some of this only works if you’re deep in the Google ecosystem, which, fair, not everyone is.
What’s Next
Google I/O is May 19-20, so expect more announcements then. But right now, if you’re building anything that needs reasoning, or if you’re just tired of manual workflows, there’s genuinely useful stuff to explore.
Next steps: Head to gemini.google.com and give the new features a proper go. If you’re on Ultra, test Deep Think. Connect your apps if privacy controls feel right to you. If you’re a developer, apply for that API access. And give Google feedback. Seriously. They actually read it, and it shapes what lands next.
