AI chatbot Google Bard is one of the fastest-evolving apps in Google's collection right now, and it looks like its brand is about to evolve too, with Google set to rebrand it as Gemini.
This comes from the developer. Dylan Roussel (via Engadget), who apparently found a list of updates coming to Google Bard. It is dated next Wednesday, February 7 and the change in title is that Bard will be renamed Gemini.
Google Gemini is the name of the next-generation AI model currently powering Bard, so in some ways it makes sense to ditch one of the nicknames. Also of note: There will apparently be a dedicated Android app as well, at least in the US.
Gemini for Android will integrate with apps including Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube, according to the update text. If you have an iPhone, Google says you'll be able to try Gemini through the existing Google app for iOS.
Google added a new changelog for Bard and wow! Is very large! Availability in Canada is amazing! That being said, I don't really understand the limitations of the app. That's disappointing for someone who lives in Europe. Oh, by the way… it's real. pic.twitter.com/QKgKrRjmM4February 3, 2024
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Another piece of information from this leak is that a paid subscription level will be introduced, called Gemini Advanced. This has been rumored before and means that Google will match OpenAI and ChatGPT in having free and paid tiers of AI bots.
Speaking of previous rumors, insider @AssembleDebug (via Android Police) has found a contact page for Bard (soon to be Gemini) within Google Messages; the idea is that you can chat with the AI as you would with any other contact.
Bard AI bot contact details page in Google MessagesIt was empty in previous beta updates and showed only the logo and name. #Google #Android #AI #GoogleMessages #Bard pic.twitter.com/ADmlNSKNnFFebruary 2, 2024
The first hints about this integration emerged last month, and it's something that apps like Snapchat have already done. It seems like most apps will end up with Google's AI assistant somewhere.
All of this has yet to be confirmed, but it looks like we could be looking at one of the most important weeks yet for Google's AI projects. As for Apple, it is expected to reveal its own generative AI efforts later this year with the release of iOS 18.
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