Sundar Pichai expresses support for the ‘entire ecosystem’ as Google includes the “artist formerly known as Bard” in the “Gemini era”
Google has renamed its Bard chatbot as Gemini and introduced a new AI system to power it. The newly named Gemini chatbot now provides users with the opportunity to improve its reasoning abilities by opting for the paid subscription model of the Gemini Advanced version. Essentially, Gemini Advanced consolidates Google’s top AI features into one convenient platform, but access to it requires a subscription to the new Google One AI Premium plan.
CEO Sundar Pichai said on his blog: “Ultra’s version will be called Gemini Advanced, a new experience that’s much better at reasoning, following directions, coding, and creative collaboration. It could be, for example, a personal tutor tailored to your learning style. Or it could be a creative partner , which will help you design a content strategy or build a business plan.”
To get the Gemini Advanced service, the subscription for US customers is $19.99 per month, and this includes the more powerful Ultra 1.0 AI model. And what does it cost? Two terabytes of cloud storage, which usually costs $9.99 per month. Additionally, access to Gemini in Gmail and Google productivity software is provided.
What caused the name change? Product manager Jack Krawczyk was quoted by Reuters as saying that Google’s approach to AI has matured and is bringing “the artist formerly known as the Bard” into the “Gemini era.”
He added: “Bard has been the best way for people to experience our most powerful models first-hand. To reflect the advanced technology at its core, Bard will now simply be Gemini. Available in 40 languages online, it’s becoming the new Gemini app for Android and the Google app for iOS.”
Pichai said of Gemini’s overall reach: “Gemini is evolving to be more than just a model. It supports an entire ecosystem—from the products billions of people use every day to the APIs and platforms that help developers and businesses innovate.”
Consumers can get unique answers
Krawczyk said the most powerful generative AI technology can conjure up new content on command and handle queries that don’t have an obvious answer online.
How to get
The company said Android users can select Gemini as the default digital assistant on their phones by using it from an app, the power button or by saying “Hey Google.” Gemini is also coming to the Google iPhone app, he added.
Pichai also hinted that such advanced models were introduced. He said: “These latest updates reflect how we boldly approach innovation and develop and deploy this technology responsibly. And we’re already well underway training the next iteration of our Gemini models – so stay tuned!”
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