Google Renames Bard to Gemini, Unveils Advanced AI Features
On Thursday, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced a significant development in the company’s AI journey, revealing that Bard will now be known as Gemini.
Gemini is accessible in 40 languages on the web and will soon be available through a new Gemini app on Android and within the Google app on iOS.
Pichai remarked, “The version with Ultra will be called Gemini Advanced, a new experience far more capable at reasoning, following instructions, coding, and creative collaboration.”
Users can access Gemini Advanced by subscribing to the new Google One AI Premium plan, he added.
Additionally, the ‘Gemini Ultra’ AI model will offer a paid experience, included in a new $20 Google One tier (offering a two-month-long free trial), which also includes 2TB of storage and access to Gemini within Google Workspace apps such as Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Meet.
Pichai emphasized, “AI is also now central to two businesses that have grown rapidly in recent years: our Cloud and Workspace services and our popular subscription service Google One, which is just about to cross 100 million subscribers.”
Gemini is evolving beyond just being models. The largest model, Ultra 1.0, is the first to surpass human experts on MMLU (massive multitask language understanding), covering a range of 57 subjects—including math, physics, history, law, medicine, and ethics—to evaluate knowledge and problem-solving abilities.
Furthermore, Gemini models will be integrated into everyday products used by individuals and businesses, including Workspace and Google Cloud, Pichai revealed.
The ‘Duet AI’ feature will transition to Gemini for Workspace, and soon consumers with the Google One AI Premium plan can utilize Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Meet.
For Cloud customers, Duet AI will also transition to Gemini in the coming weeks, the company announced.
