Google updates its AI: kills Assistant and Bard and bets on Gemini

Google has decided to take a big leap to usher in the "Gemini era". According to the latest rumors, the Mountain View-based company has decided to rename Bard, its artificial intelligence chatbot, to Gemini. This means that both the app and the artificial intelligence model it runs on will carry the same name.

Gemini's launch is accompanied by a new Android app, which is already available and even allows it to be used as a replacement for the traditional Google Assistant. Gemini won't have a dedicated iPhone app, at least not yet, though iOS users will be able to access the artificial intelligence-based virtual assistant from Google's official app.

But the transition from Bard to Gemini is not limited to smartphones, but is also reflected in the web version of the chatbot. From now on, users will access it not through bard.google.com, but through gemini.google.com.

As if all this wasn't enough, Google has also officially announced the launch of Gemini Advanced, formerly known as Bard Advanced. The Gemini Ultra version of the chatbot is now available, but be prepared to pay. Following ChatGPT Plus and Copilot Pro, users will have to pay $19,99 per month.

Gemini is displacing Google Assistant on Android

If you download Google's new Gemini app for Android, you'll be able to interact directly with the Mountain View-based artificial intelligence. While it works as a standalone app, you can customize it so that it replaces Google Assistant.

This means that you can call it up in the same way you call Assistant. For example, by pressing and holding the Home button, which is located in the center of Android's bottom navigation bar. But that's not all, as you can also activate it with your voice using the command "Hey, Google". It's worth noting that Gemini doesn't support all the built-in Google Assistant features yet, but the company is working on implementing them.

It's important to note that for now, the Google Gemini app can only be downloaded in the US. However, the California-based company plans to launch it globally in the coming weeks. Currently, the mobile virtual assistant is available only in English, and support for Japanese and Korean languages will appear in the near future. Google promises that gradually the Gemini app will be available in other languages as well.

As mentioned earlier, Gemini will only be available on the iPhone in the Google app. Mountain View will introduce the feature in the coming weeks, starting with the US. It is not yet known if there are plans to launch a separate Android-like app in the future.

Gemini Advanced will also make its debut

When Google introduced the Gemini language models, it signaled early on its intention to offer a version of Bard that would take advantage of Gemini Ultra, its most powerful artificial intelligence. Now that variant, known as Bard Advanced, has become a reality. True, under the name Gemini Advanced.

To avoid further confusion with the nomenclature chosen for its artificial intelligence and the applications that take advantage of it, the chatbot is officially called Gemini Advanced with Ultra 1.0.