What you need to know
- When you download Google Assistant, it will offer you Gemini by default.
- You do have the option of switching back to Google Assistant via app settings if you prefer.
- Gemini opt-in is rolling out to select devices and countries and is currently available in English, Japanese, and Korean.
After Google’s Bard was rebranded to Gemini, it was swiftly followed by the release of the Gemini app. And now, it looks as though Google Assistant is being quietly replaced by Gemini altogether.
As per reporting by Android Authority, users in some parts of the world are finding that when they attempt to download the Google Assistant app from the Play Store, they get the Gemini app by default. And yet, for some reason, downloading the Gemini Android app will see those users end up with two different examples of the same app icon on their apps list.
This isn’t currently the case in all parts of the world. According to Google, the Gemini mobile app is available in over 150 countries, in English, Japanese, and Korean (Google has stated that in the US, Gemini is only available in English). Google says, “We’ll gradually expand to more languages, countries, and territories in a way that is consistent with local regulations and our AI principles.” It has also been confirmed that the Gemini mobile app will eventually be available for users with the Gemini for Google Workspace add-on.
For countries where the Gemini app is not currently available, users can still download Google Assistant, where they can opt-in to Gemini and have it as their “primary assistant” on their phones. If you’re using Gemini instead of Google Assistant, you can switch back to Google Assistant via the app Settings menu. If users do this, then where applicable, the app icon changes back to Assistant instead of Gemini.
In its Gemini Apps help section, Google acknowledges that “Some familiar features from Google Assistant may not be supported in Gemini, which is still evolving”. This might explain why Google Assistant has not yet been replaced altogether.
While automatically replacing Google Assistant with Gemini hasn’t yet been rolled out worldwide, the direction of travel seems clear: Google is keen for users to switch from Google Assistant to Gemini, and it seems very likely that, eventually, Google Assistant will disappear for good.
