Google Bard Officially Becomes Gemini With a Paid “Advanced” Version

Google Bard, the AI chatbot that the company launched last year in response to OpenAI’s ChatGPT is being rebranded to Gemini. Gemini made its official debut in December as Google’s largest and most capable AI model, and as Bard was already using Gemini, it was probably time for some simplification. The news actually leaked a couple of days ago.

“Our mission with Bard has always been to give you direct access to our AI models, and Gemini represents our most capable family of models. To reflect this, Bard will now simply be known as Gemini,” wrote Sissie Hsiao, Vice President and General Manager, Gemini experiences and Google Assistant.

With this new rebranding, Gemini is getting a couple of new features and a new mobile presence. On the web, you can access the AI assistant on gemini.google.com. On Android, the new Gemini app will work as a generative AI version of the existing Google Assistant, and Google won’t change the different ways to summon it.

Google said that Gemini will still be able to offer some Assistant features such as setting timers, calling contacts, and managing smart home devices. However, Android users will also be able to interact with Gemini using natural language and a new overlay experience.

For iOS users, Gemini will just be integrated into the main Google app in the coming weeks. Tapping the Gemini toggle will open a chat window within the Google app, so this won’t be as convenient as the contextual help Gemini can provide across different Android apps.

As of today, Gemini is powered by the Pro 1.0 model that’s available in over 40 languages and more than 230 countries. However, Google is also launching today Gemini Advanced, a new generative AI experience in Gemini powered by Google’s Ultra 1.0 model.

“With our Ultra 1.0 model, Gemini Advanced is far more capable at highly complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, following nuanced instructions and collaborating on creative projects. Gemini Advanced not only allows you to have longer, more detailed conversations; it also better understands the context from your previous prompts,” Hsiao explained today.

To try Gemini Advanced, you’ll need to sign up for the new Google One AI Premium Plan, which will be priced at $19.99/month after a two-month trial. This new plan will include all the benefits from the existing Google One Premium plan ($9.99/month), including 2TB of storage and premium features in Google Workspace and Google Photos. However, it will also make Gemini Advanced available within Gmail, Docs, Slides, Sheets. This is similar to the Google Workspace with Duet AI experience that Google launched last year for commercial customers (the “Duet AI” brand is also going away). As of this writing, however, it seems like the Google One AI Premium plan is only available in the US.

Overall, there are some of similarities between the Bard/Gemini rebranding and Microsoft’s Bing chat/Copilot rebranding. And with its new Google One AI Premium Plan, Google is also making advanced AI features available to consumers, just like Microsoft recently did with its new Copilot Pro subscription.