Google is merging its AI products Bard and Duet into one
product called Gemini. There is now a Gemini app for Android where the Bard
chatbot and all Duet AI features in Google Workspace are available. In addition
to that, Google’s largest and most efficient version of its large language
model, the Gemini Ultra 1.0, is being released to the public.
Downloading the Gemini app will set Gemini (previously Bard) as your default assistant, replacing Google Assistant when you say, “Hey Google” or long-press the home button. According to Sissie Hsiao, who runs Gemini at Google, the AI assistant is “conversational, multimodal, and more helpful than ever before.” Mostly, the changes that have been made to Bard are limited to the act of rebranding, so both the chatbot and AI features for Workspace will feel the same way that they previously have.
Gemini will work both as an AI assistant and chatbot, and could even be used in place of Search, as Google has added a toggle at the top of the app that lets you switch from Search to Gemini. This proves just how much faith Google has put into Gemini as it seems to consider it equally important as Search, which has been the most important product of the company.
The most commonly used version of the Gemini model will be the standard version,
Gemini Pro. Gemini Ultra, on the other hand, is the most powerful version of
the model yet, and can be accessed only via the Gemini Advanced subscription,
which is part of the new Google One AI Premium plan priced at $20 for a month.
Google has not yet launched a Gemini app for iOS, but iOS
users can access all of Google’s AI features in the Google app.
