Google’s Bard rebrands as Gemini, reflects new AI engine

In a move reflecting its focus on cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), Google has renamed its Bard chatbot to Gemini, powered by the company’s new AI technology.

The Alphabet subsidiary announced that consumers now have the option to enhance their reasoning capabilities through paid subscriptions, as it competes with Microsoft for market dominance. U.S. customers can avail themselves of Gemini Advanced for $19.99 per month, granting access to the more robust Ultra 1.0 AI model.

This bundle, the Google One AI Premium, marks one of the company’s most significant responses to Microsoft and its collaborator OpenAI. The move underscores the intensifying competition for consumer attention, with multiple paid AI subscription options now available.

Today, we’re entering the next chapter of our Gemini era by bringing our #GeminiAI models to more of our products, starting with Bard — which will now be called Gemini. https://t.co/KFRp1qkfHg pic.twitter.com/WKHZyv3Ejp

— Google (@Google) February 8, 2024

A year ago, OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus took the lead in offering early access to AI models and additional features, pioneering the market. Recently, Microsoft unveiled its own competing subscription for AI integration in applications like Word and Excel. Both subscriptions are priced at $20 per month in the United States.

In an interview, Product Lead Jack Krawczyk said cloud storage, Gmail and other integrations would put Google’s subscription in harmony with how people work.

“When I pay $20 a month, access to a model alone is not really enough,” he said.

Regarding the name change, Krawczyk noted that Google’s AI methodology had evolved, ushering in “the Gemini era” for what was previously known as Bard, emphasizing a significant transition in their approach.

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Krawczyk specified that the target demographic comprises individuals seeking cutting-edge generative AI technology capable of producing new content on demand and addressing queries that lack obvious answers online.

Google aims to leverage its extensive user base of Android phone customers to propel its latest product, Gemini. Android users can seamlessly integrate Gemini as their default digital assistant through an app, the power button, or by simply saying, “Hey Google.”

“When you do that, it presents one of the lowest friction ways in the world to access AI,” Krawczyk said.

Gemini is expanding its reach to the Google iPhone app. Additionally, Krawczyk announced that Gemini Advanced is now accessible in English across 150 countries as of Thursday.

Gemini’s smartphone rollout, starting in the U.S., will expand internationally next week to Asia-Pacific, Latin America and other regions with additional language support in Japanese and Korean, he said. Users get a two-month subscription trial at no cost.