Google renames Bard to Gemini, launches new AI model
Exactly one year ago to the day, Google announced Bard – its AI-powered competitor to ChatGPT. Bard was powered by the LaMDA model, but Google switched to Gemini in December. Now the service will take the name of the model that powers it. Goodbye, Bard, hello Gemini.
Google has switched Gemini to the Gemini Pro 1.0 model. It is available in over 230 countries and supports over 40 languages. In addition to a web interface, the new Gemini app is also available to feed the chatbot via text or voice. However, Gemini is “multimodal”, which means you can also simply give it a photo as input or ask it to generate a picture.
The Gemini basic model is free, but the second model Google Gemini Advanced, which is based on Gemini Ultra 1.0, is now also available. After a free two-month trial, Advanced costs €22/$20/£19/₹1,950 on the Google One AI Premium plan. You also get 2 TB of storage and other Google One Premium benefits (One Premium normally costs €10/$10).
Google will also activate Gemini in Gmail, Google Docs and other services (originally called “Duet AI”). Gemini Advanced is available in more than 150 countries from today. So far, however, it is only available in English, which will be expanded over time. On iOS, Gemini is part of the Google app; on Android, the new AI replaces the Google Assistant.
You activate it in the same way by saying “Hey Google” or launching the app. It can summarize articles, create titles for photos and much more. The old voice control functions such as setting timers, making calls, controlling smart home devices and the like will also migrate to Gemini.
