So Long, Google Assistant: The Rise of Gemini

The time has come for a significant shift in the world of digital assistants. Google has officially announced the end of the Google Assistant era. This news was shared in a blog post on Friday, highlighting plans to phase out Google Assistant across various platforms, starting with mobile devices and extending to tablets, cars, and mobile-connected gadgets such as headphones.

As the transition unfolds, Google Assistant will eventually be removed from Nest smart speakers, displays, and Google TV devices. The new assistant set to take its place will be Gemini, a contender in the generative AI landscape, developed by Google.

Gemini is set to officially replace Google Assistant on Google’s mobile devices, including phones and tablets. Moreover, a “new experience powered by Gemini” is anticipated to launch for smart speakers and displays.

Google indicated that this transition would happen “over the coming months,” with plans to remove Google Assistant from mobile devices and app stores by the end of the year. However, Google Assistant will continue functioning on Nest speakers and displays, as well as Google TV devices until the Gemini-enhanced experience is rolled out.

Gemini is already making strides in becoming the primary voice assistant across Google’s mobile product lineup, although some remnants of Google Assistant are still evident. Meanwhile, the roll-out of Gemini to Google's smart devices has been more cautious. An extension to the Gemini app introduced in November allowed this AI to control Google Home-connected devices, initially available only through Google's public preview program, but it has since gained wider accessibility.

By December, Gemini began appearing on Nest speakers like the Nest Audio and Nest Mini, again starting with the public preview, limited to users with a paid Nest Aware subscription. Currently, access to Gemini on these Nest devices remains restricted, leaving most users still interacting with Google Assistant.

Google Assistant has been around since 2016, launched alongside the first Google Home speaker, following the earlier introductions of similar assistants like Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri. As Google Assistant spread to various devices such as phones, tablets, and smart speakers, its significance within Google's product range has diminished due to the rapid growth of generative AI technologies, culminating in the emergence of Gemini.

Across the tech landscape, other companies are also evolving their virtual assistants. Amazon is set to enhance Alexa with a new version, Alexa+, which utilizes advanced large language models (LLMs). This upgrade, free for Prime members and available at a fee for others, is expected to roll out later this month. Meanwhile, the classic version of Alexa will remain available at no cost.

Apple is also in the news, facing delays with an anticipated AI upgrade for its Siri assistant, stirring concerns among users.

Google, AI, Assistant