Google Officially Dumps Assistant for Gemini
Google has officially announced the planned phase-out of the classic Google Assistant, confirming the shift towards its generative AI-powered successor, Gemini.
When Gemini (then called Bard) began its rollout more than a year ago things were in a decidedly worse place than it is today. Responses were slow often taking 5-10 seconds or longer to even begin answering questions, especially if you were using the multimodal functions. It also lacked many of the abilities of good old Google Assistant. Simple things like controlling your Smart Home devices or setting alarms just wouldn’t work. It honestly felt like Google was rushing the shipment of a product and it would take months for things to arrive at a place where Gemini felt more or less complete.
Now, not only can Gemini do most of the things Assistant could with the use of Extensions, it’s also much faster and much more accurate. Like any LLM, it can occasionally give some head scratching responses, but I must admit it’s become an app I use daily and have found quite useful. Your mileage may vary.
In the coming months, Google will be accelerating the transition, upgrading more mobile users to Gemini. Millions of users have already made the switch and despite what you might read on Reddit, Google says the reception has largely been positive. Subsequently, the classic Google Assistant will no longer be accessible on most mobile devices or available for download from app stores. This transition will also extend to tablets, cars, and connected devices, with plans to introduce a Gemini-powered experience to home devices in the near future.
The retirement of the classic Google Assistant marks a significant step in Google's push to integrate their Generative AI into virtually everything they can.