Google Says Bye-Bye to Bard, Hello to Gemini

Company retires its chatbot, releases an AI-driven upgrade that doubles as a digital assistant
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 9, 2024 4:35 PM CST
Google Says Bye-Bye to Bard, Hello to Gemini
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks about Google DeepMind at an event in Mountain View, California, on May 10.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

There's a new chatbot/digital assistant in town, and it comes all in one package. In a "Siri meets ChatGPT" move, Google has retired its Bard chatbot and launched in its place the Gemini smartphone app, an artificial intelligence-driven tool announced Thursday that's now available to English speakers in more than 150 nations and territories. So what does Gemini do, exactly? It'll answer the usual user questions and respond to voice and text commands, but also (among other things) be able to "write poetry, generate images, draft emails, analyze personal photos, and take other actions, like setting a timer or placing a phone call," per the New York Times.

The Verge notes that Gemini actually is still Bard, at least in terms of its internal chatbot, with "the other changes to Gemini ... [being] mostly just branding." What sets this incarnation apart is a boost in power and its digital-assistant capabilities. "We think this is one of the most profound ways we are going to advance our mission," Sissie Hsiao, a Google general manager overseeing Gemini, said to the media on Thursday, per the AP. Per the Times, Google's Gemini launch is playing catch-up of sorts with ChatGPT, the chatbot released by OpenAI more than a year ago. Google did launch Bard not long after, though to "middling" reviews, the paper notes.

The Gemini large language model, or LLM, is a "multimodal" system, which means it will respond to both visual and aural input. The free, limited version of Gemini's technology is now on Android phones (it'll replace Google Assistant) and the web; a version for iPhones should arrive "in the coming weeks," says Google. The expanded, more powerful Gemini Advanced—available free for a two-month trial period—will cost $19.99 per month, which the Verge notes "seems to be about the going rate for a high-end AI bot."

story continues below

The Gemini app will launch in the Asia-Pacific region next week; Korean and Japanese versions will be on hand. So what does Gemini's rollout mean for the big picture? The AP notes it's "likely to escalate the high-stakes AI showdown pitting Google against Microsoft, two of the world's most powerful companies jockeying to get the upper hand with a technology that could reshape work, entertainment, and perhaps humanity itself." (More Google stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X