Google Transforms Bard into Gemini: Launches New AI App and Subscription Service

📝 SUMMARY: In a significant move to escalate its presence in the AI landscape, Google ($GOOGL) announced the rebranding of Bard, its artificial intelligence chatbot and assistant, to Gemini. Accompanying the rebranding, Google unveiled a dedicated Android app for Gemini and integrated the service within the Google app on iOS, marking a strategic expansion of its AI offerings. This rebrand reflects Google's intent to compete more aggressively with OpenAI's ChatGPT, positioning Gemini at the forefront of AI-driven chat and assistant technologies.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai underscored the company's dedication to AI during its earnings call, envisioning the development of an AI agent capable of executing increasingly complex tasks, highlighting the potential integration within Google Search. This ambition aligns with the broader tech industry's trend towards leveraging AI agents as productivity tools, a vision shared by leaders from Microsoft to Amazon.

The introduction of Gemini Ultra 1.0, accessible for $19.99 per month through Google One, represents Google's offer to power users seeking advanced AI capabilities. This subscription includes existing Google One storage plans and features a two-month trial, showcasing Google's approach to providing value-added services to its subscribers.

Thursday's launch makes Gemini available in over 150 countries, initially offering services in English with plans to extend language support to Japanese, Korean, and others. Furthermore, the Gemini rebrand extends to Google Workspace and Google Cloud's productivity tools, now termed Gemini for Workspace and Gemini for Cloud, enhancing task completion and productivity for businesses.

Google's pivot to Gemini signifies a shift towards a unified AI model approach, with the name change intended to clarify user interaction with the underlying AI technology. Looking ahead, Google envisions Gemini evolving into a versatile AI assistant, capable of managing complex tasks like scheduling, booking, and purchasing, moving beyond its current capabilities of summarizing and coding assistance.

🔍 SOURCE: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/08/google-gemini-ai-launches-in-new-app-subscription.html