Google rebrands Bard as Gemini as part of a significant AI update
Google has rebranded Bard as Gemini across all platforms and has also introduced a paid Gemini Advanced service. Powered by Google's most capable model, Gemini Advanced is currently available in English. The company also announced an updated Gemini experience in its Android and iOS apps.
Starting February 8, Bard will be known as Gemini and will be available in 40 languages as a web-based assistant, with the general availability Android Gemini app and Gemini in the Google iOS app rolling out over time. A month ago, Google announced that a fine-tuned version of Gemini Pro would power Bard. This is now the standard and freely accessible Gemini, as Google also announced the release of the Gemini Advanced service, powered by Ultra 1.0. Gemini Advanced will be included as part of the newly launched Google One AI Premium plan, a subscription tier including all the benefits from the existing Google One Premium plan, two terabytes of storage, and access to Google's AI services.
Gemini Advanced will offer state-of-the-art performance for completing complex tasks such as coding, logical reasoning, nuanced instruction-following, and creative collaboration. It will be powered by Ultra 1.0, the only model surpassing human experts in the MMLU (massive multitask language understanding) benchmark. The service is currently only available in English in more than 150 countries and territories, with plans to gradually expand the language availability. Gemini Advanced was tested with extensive trust and safety checks, and it was also fine-tuned and refined using human feedback-based reinforcement learning. The full details on the Gemini Advanced safety measures can be found in the Gemini Technical Report.
The Android and iOS updates will offer an updated experience when accessing Gemini and Gemini Advanced. Android users can download the dedicated Gemini app or opt into the service via Google Assistant. This will allow access to Gemini through the same channels for Google Assistant access, such as pressing the power button, corner-swiping, or saying 'Hey Google.' Conversely, Gemini can now perform several Google Assistant functions, including timers, calls, and controlling smart home devices, with upcoming support for more actions. Gemini access for iOS users will happen through the iOS Google app, where users can tap the Gemini toggle to start a chat. From February 8, Gemini became available in US English for iOS and Android users. Starting this week, Google will expand English language access to Gemini and add Japanese and Korean to the lineup.
