Google says Create My Widget lets you design an Android home screen widget by describing it in plain language, with no coding, and that it can pull information from Gmail, Calendar and Search (our summary). It is rolling out over the next few weeks, for users 18+ in select countries and languages. The prompts below are our own; results depend on what Google supports on your device.
What a good widget prompt includes
- Purpose: what the widget is for, in one line.
- Data: where the information comes from (an email, a calendar, a search).
- Layout: what shows first, what is small, how many items.
- Style: colors, size and tone of the text.
Trip dashboard
Make a widget for my trip to Lisbon next week. Show the flight time from my confirmation email at the top, the hotel name below it, and today's weather for Lisbon. Keep it compact, with large text for the departure time.Monthly spending tracker
Create a widget that tracks my spending this month against a budget of 400. Show the amount left in large numbers and a simple progress bar. Use green while I am under 75% and orange after that.Check where the numbers come from before you rely on them, and do not share accounts you are not comfortable connecting.
Countdown
Build a countdown widget to my half marathon on the date in my calendar. Show days left in big numbers and a short line of encouragement that changes each week.Study planner
Make a widget that shows my next three study sessions from my calendar, each with the subject and start time. Add a small "today" label to anything happening today.Pair it with our study prompts for the sessions themselves.
Refine one thing at a time
Make the text larger and remove the weather line.Switch to a dark background and keep only the next event.Changing one detail per prompt makes it easier to see what worked, the same approach as our sketch-to-app prompts.
Checklist
- Say what the widget shows first.
- Name the source of each piece of data.
- Keep it to three or four items; widgets are small.
- Check the details against the original email or calendar entry.
More Gemini prompting on the Gemini page and in our reusable prompt templates.