Google reportedly rebranding Bard to Gemini, adding 'Advanced' subscription service
Google Bard disappointed users upon its launch with its underwhelming performance. However, Google has made several AI advancements since then, including releasing its most advanced LLM, Gemini, and rolling out an impressive image generator released last week. To follow on those upgrades, it looks like Bard is getting a rebrand.
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On Saturday, Android developer Dylan Roussel spotted a changelog for Bard, dated February 7, 2024, that revealed Bard's rebrand to Gemini, as well as several other updates coming to the AI chatbot.
Bard will soon be renamed to Gemini!
— Dylan Roussel (@evowizz) February 1, 2024
The changelog also contains a mention of "Gemini Apps" which seems to be a way for Google to gather Gemini "web" and Gemini "mobile" under a same name.
And in case you are curious, Bard Advanced will be Gemini Advanced. pic.twitter.com/dPlCYjgjth
In the screenshots, Google provides an explanation for the name change claiming, "We're committed to giving everyone direct access to Google AI and, as of this week, every Gemini user across our supported countries and languages has access to Google's best family of model."
"To better reflect this commitment, we've renamed Bard to Gemini," Google added.
Google added a new changelog for Bard, and — oh boy — it's a big one!
— Dylan Roussel (@evowizz) February 3, 2024
The availability in Canada is awesome! That said I don't really understand the limitations with the app. That's disappointing as someone who lives in Europe.
Oh by the way... https://t.co/xM2snHVYJ9 is real. pic.twitter.com/QKgKrRjmM4
Bard will also be introducing a new subscription tier -- Gemini Advanced. Similar to ChatGPT Plus or Copilot Pro, with the subscription upgrade, users will have access to Google's latest AI advancements first. This includes its most capable large language model, Ultra 1.0.
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According to the screenshot, Ultra 1.0 will make Gemini Advanced more capable of complex tasks such as coding, logical reasoning, and more. In the upcoming months, it will get even more advanced features such as expanded multi-modal capabilities. The cost of the subscription was not detailed in the screenshot.
The updates will also come with a new Gemini app, meant to help users access AI assistance on the go. It will be integrated with Google apps, like Gmail and Maps, to assist with tasks throughout Google's different productivity apps.
The app will be made available in the Google Play Store only. However, if iOS users want to experience the Gemini app on mobile, they can do so via the Google app. Google shared in the screenshot that the app is a step towards its vision to "deliver the world's most helpful assistant."
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This rebrand follows Microsoft's rebranding of Bing Chat to Copilot in September to streamline its AI assistant's names. Like Google, Microsoft's goal is also to become the go-to AI assistant for nearly every task you can imagine.
"We are the Copilot company," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. "We believe in a future where there will be a Copilot for everyone and everything you do."
We are seeing both Microsoft and Google pivot from being a standalone AI chatbot like ChatGPT. Instead, both companies are focusing on creating AI assistants that can be infused across all of users' different applications natively, without having to rely on visiting a chatbot's site to get assistance with the task you need.