Google bids goodbye to Bard, kick-starts next Gemini AI era: Sundar Pichai

NEW DELHI: Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai on Thursday announced the next chapter in the company’s AI journey, saying Bard will now simply be called Gemini.

It’s available in 40 languages on the web, and is coming to a new Gemini app on Android and on the Google app on iOS.

“The version with Ultra will be called Gemini Advanced, a new experience far more capable at reasoning, following instructions, coding, and creative collaboration,” Pichai said in a statement.

People can start using Gemini Advanced by subscribing to the new Google One AI Premium plan, he added.

The ‘Gemini Ultra’ AI model will be a paid experience, available through a new $20 Google One tier (with a two-month-long free trial) that also includes 2TB of storage and access to Gemini in Google Workspace apps like Docs, Slides, Sheets and Meet.

“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,” said Pichai.

Gemini is evolving to be more than just the models. The largest model Ultra 1.0 is the first to outperform human experts on MMLU (massive multitask language understanding), which uses a combination of 57 subjects — including math, physics, history, law, medicine and ethics — to test knowledge and problem-solving abilities.

Gemini models are also coming to products that people and businesses use every day, including Workspace and Google Cloud, Pichai informed.

The ‘Duet AI’ feature will become Gemini for Workspace, and soon consumers with the Google One AI Premium plan can use Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Meet.

For Cloud customers, Duet AI will also become Gemini in the coming weeks, said the company.