Google Retires Bard, Unveils Gemini: A Game-Changing Move in AI Landscape

The days of Google Bard are over. The company is retiring Bard and rebranding it as Gemini, almost a year after it began a focused efforts to take on OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The company is also introducing the Gemini Ultra, its most powerful large language model to date.

However, Gemini Ultra will cost money to access. It can be accessed through a new $20 Google One tier (which offers a free two-month trial period) that also comes with 2TB of storage, access to Gemini in Google Workspace apps like Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Meet, and the rest of Google’s One feature set. Along with that, Google will also transfer the Duet AI brand to Gemini and retire it, which was mostly used for Workspace’s AI features.

The company is also releasing a new Gemini app for Android and integrating it with the Google app for iOS. With Gemini, you can now use Android as a replacement for Google Assistant. The company said that more information about API access to the Ultra model will be available in the coming weeks.

Though it is currently only available in English, Gemini Advanced will be accessible in over 150 nations and territories. The next languages planned to be included are Japanese and Korean.

Google Gemini Ultra 1.0:

Upon first announcing Gemini, Google only made the Gemini Pro model broadly accessible via Bart. The company said that Gemini Pro performed at around the same level as GPT-3.5, but with GPT-4 publicly available, the news felt a little underwhelming.

Google stated earlier that following a round of private testing, Gemini Ultra will go on sale to the general public in early 2024. The Ultra model was expected to be a part of a subscription plan, initially known as Bart Advanced but now called Gemini Advanced, even though the company didn’t state this clearly back then.

Prior to today’s announcement, Google’s Sissie Hasiao stated in a press conference that “Gemini Ultra 1.0 is a model that sets the state of the art across a wide range of benchmarks across text, image, audio, and video.”

“Gemini is more to Google than just the models. It’s a significant shift in how we think about cutting-edge technology and the entire ecosystem that we’re creating around it, from the products that influence billions of users to the APIs and platforms that developers and businesses use to create.”

Hasiao also pointed out that Google renamed Bart to Gemini to reflect the fact that its most cutting-edge technology is at its core. However, who knows what Google will call Bard if, with its vast branding knowledge, the company decides to launch a more capable model and calls it Aries instead of Gemini Ultra Super Pro Max 3.0. Even if Google highlights Bard’s user ratings, a rebrand is practically required because many of the original users probably never came back once it produced mediocre results.

For free users, there won’t be any major changes as Bard has already moved to Gemini Pro. However, those who want to pay for Gemini Advanced will have access to the Gemini Ultra 1.0 variant. We’ll have to use Gemini Ultra 1.0 ourselves to find out just how good it is. During this week’s press conference, Google itself was a little vague about its capabilities.

“Gemini Advanced is much more proficient at extremely complex tasks with a range of applications like coding, creative collaboration, following nuanced instructions, and logical reasoning, and many more, thanks to access to our Ultra 1.0 model,” Hasiao said. “Gemini Advanced can better comprehend the context of your previous prompts in addition to enabling you to write longer prompts.” It’s important to note that Gemini Ultra 1.0 is multi-model as well, so you can have discussions regarding images, for example.

Google Gemini Advanced:

Users will need to subscribe to the new $20 Google One AI Premium subscription in order to access Ultra 1.0 through Gemini Advanced, which is now the only option available. All of the benefits of the current Google One professional plan—2TB of storage, professional photo editing tools, premium video features for Google Meet, and improved appointment scheduling for Google Calendar—are included in this package. They will also have access to the more sophisticated variant anywhere Gemini is sold. They will also soon have access to Gemini in Google Workspace, which is probably going to resemble Microsoft Copilot, but Google hasn’t revealed any specifics yet.

Some of the things you can do with Gemini Advanced are listed below, but Google says it can do a whole lot more.

Gemini Advanced can act as your personal tutor- by customizing sample tests, step-by-step instructions, and back-and-forth conversations to fit your preferred learning method.
It can assist you in evaluating various coding techniques and offering reliable advice in more complex coding settings.
It can assist digital creators in taking their ideas from conception to completion by producing original material, examining current trends, and formulating better strategies to grow their audiences.