Published Oct 28, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

If you've ever wondered whether an AI feature on your phone is doing anything useful, Ben Khalesi has probably asked the same question. He has covered AI and Android for Android Police since 2023, with Pixel, Galaxy, Google's apps, and the rest of the Android ecosystem never far behind. Ben is a lifelong geek who trained as an AI engineer and earned a bachelor's in IT, so when the industry announces something new, he's the one who wants to know how everything works behind the scene and what can be trusted.

Black Friday will be here before you know it, so now is the time to sort out your holiday wishlist.

The usual game plan is draining. You cling to tabs you swear you'll return to and obsessively refresh product pages.

Google thinks it can do that job better than you.…