If rumours making the rounds online are anything to go by, Google is planning to rename its AI-powered chatbot Bard and launch an accompanying Android application.
To recap, Google launched Bard last year to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT. The search giant has been sparing no effort since to improve its AI chatbot.
#GoogleBard can now respond in real time. pic.twitter.com/l4OIs6DkJl
— Vinay Patel (@VinayPatelBlogs) November 1, 2023
In line with this, Google announced a major update last year that enabled Bard to respond to queries in real time.
Exciting changes coming to Google Bard
Fresh off the heels of November's YouTube extension upgrade, Google seems poised to unveil a wave of exciting developments for its AI bot, fuelling anticipation for what's next.
📺 Google Bard & YouTube Extension
— Jerrod (@OnwardsProject) September 19, 2023
Super-charge your YouTube search with Google Bard.
You can find specific videos for what you're looking for, with summaries, directly on Bard now! pic.twitter.com/KmuO2VhCwE
The most notable changes include the rebranding of Bard to Gemini. Aside from this, Google is reportedly gearing up to launch a dedicated app and introduce a paid language model for "complex" tasks.
It is worth noting that Google has neither confirmed nor denied this speculation, which stems from an X post by Android app developer Dylan Roussel.
Taking to the Elon Musk-owned social media platform, Roussel recently shared an image of a Google Bard changelog dated February 7, which implies the new changes could roll out soon.
Google added a new changelog for Bard, and — oh boy — it's a big one!
— Dylan Roussel (@evowizz) February 3, 2024
The availability in Canada is awesome! That said I don't really understand the limitations with the app. That's disappointing as someone who lives in Europe.
Oh by the way... https://t.co/xM2snHVYJ9 is real. pic.twitter.com/QKgKrRjmM4
Shedding light on the name change, the purported changelog states: "We're committed to giving everyone direct access to Google Al and, as of this week, every Gemini user across our supported countries and languages has access to Google's best family of Al models. To better reflect this commitment, we've renamed Bard to Gemini."
This aligns with an earlier report by the folks at 9To5Google, who noticed all strings in the latest Google app beta version that previously mentioned Bard, now refer to Gemini. The latest leak suggests the change will not be limited to the mobile app but will affect the entire product.
I asked #GoogleBard whether reports about its rebranding to #Gemini are true. Here's what the AI-backed chatbot said: pic.twitter.com/ye47xhPNqr
— Vinay Patel (@VinayPatelBlogs) February 6, 2024
Moreover, the leaked changelog hints at the announcement for Gemini Advanced, which was originally slated to arrive carrying the "Google Bard Advanced" moniker.
According to the announcement, Gemini Advanced will be a paid version of the chatbot and will draw its power from the company's most powerful foundational model, Gemini Ultra. Reportedly, the Advanced tier will be powered by Ultra 1.0.
The paid version will be able to do "highly complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, following nuanced instructions, and creative collaboration," as per the changelog. Furthermore, the Gemini Ultra-powered chatbot will get exclusive features coupled with expanded multimodal capabilities.
The changelog also hints at the impending arrival of a new Android app dubbed Gemini app, which will be integrated with all Google apps. The Gemini app will reportedly support interaction through text, voice and images.
Although the Gemini app will not be available for iOS at launch, the announcement claims iOS users can try Gemini in the Google app.
