Pixie was a canceled Pixel assistant that became Screenshots app
Ahead of the Pixel 9, Google was rumored to be working on a “Pixie” assistant. That never launched, but a recent report reveals what happened.
Background on Pixie
In a December 2023 report about Google’s broader AI efforts, The Information revealed the existence of “Pixie” as an “AI assistant” that aims to perform “complex and multimodal tasks, such as suggesting directions to the closest store where someone can buy a product they have photographed.” It would be powered by Gemini and use Gmail, Maps, and other “data from Google products” on your Pixel.
Development of Pixie
A February 2025 article from The Information provides more information about what Pixie was. This report calls it an “AI agent” that “could complete tasks across different apps.” However, the original vision for Pixie was “scaled back to avoid competing with Gemini”.
After a leadership review, employees working on the product were told Pichai had ordered a change of direction to ensure the new product didn’t compete with the Gemini assistant, which operates across all of Google’s Android devices, according to a person with direct knowledge of the instructions.
Instead, Pixie was “split in two” to become the Pixel Screenshots app we have today and “features for the Gemini assistant.” The latter could be referring to how Gemini’s Utilities Extension/App can be used to search Pixel Screenshots.
Neither product offers as many useful functions as what was initially envisioned for the Pixel assistant, according to the person.
Pixel Screenshots and Pixie's Legacy
Notably, the package name for Pixel Screenshots is: com.google.android.apps.pixel.agent. Besides having a better idea of what Pixie is, this new information is relevant in the context of this month’s “Pixel Sense” rumor. Looking at that again in the context of Google presumably still not wanting a second product that competes with Gemini, Pixel Sense does not seem to be a smart assistant in the traditional sense.
Pixel Sense looks to provide assistance — in the form of “predictive suggestions” and “notes to [suggest] personal data like places, products, and names, right when you need them,” according to leaked screenshots — but it’s not another assistant that you speak commands to. There are clearly assistive and proactive elements of Pixie in Pixel Sense, but not a whole smart assistant UI that you use instead of Gemini.
