Google Assistant, basically Google's answer to Siri as a digital assistant, could soon be replaced by (or at least dissolved into) the company's artificial intelligence chatbot, Google Bard.
While you can usually access and use your Google Assistant with a simple “Hey Google,” 9to5Google has pointed out some interesting, but sudden, changes to the user interface during the initial setup process, particularly the greeting pop-up when you summon the virtual helper. As you can see in the screenshot below, the friendly presentation you receive when opening the latest version of the Google app has changed in recent weeks.
We've gone from a message that said “I'm Bard's assistant” to simply “I'm Bard.” It appears that this change is not only found in the Assistant app on Android devices, but according to 9to5Google, the new message appears on other devices with Google Assistant functionality built in, such as Nest Hub smart home devices.
The change is not limited to just the greeting screen. Settings options are now called “Bard Settings” instead of Assistant with Bard Settings.” Additionally, the company appears to directly refer to Bard as a digital assistant completely separate from Google Assistant. 9to5Google, which has done a deep dive , offers this table here directly comparing the old and new interface.
A quick change of direction
If Google is making an effort to rebrand as 'Assistant with Bard', we could be looking at a next-generation voice assistant with full integration into Bard. Perhaps in the near future, users won't say “Hey Google” to their phones or smart speakers, but rather “Hey Bard.”
This rebranding just before the launch of Assistant with Bard could put Google Bard in the position of being Siri's next big competitor as it prepares to grace phones and tablets across Google's device portfolio (and, of course, any third-party device with pre-existing functions). Assistant functionality).
