Google Retires Bard, Launches $20 Gemini Ultra Subscription
Google replaces its Bard chatbot with the Gemini brand and introduces a $20 monthly tier for access to its most powerful AI model. The new subscription also integrates AI features across Google Workspace and replaces the Duet AI brand.
Google retires the Bard chatbot name and rebrands its AI efforts under the Gemini family of foundation models. Alongside this name change, the company launches Gemini Ultra, its most capable large language model to date, to directly compete with top-tier rivals like GPT-4.
Access to Gemini Ultra requires a new $20 monthly Google One subscription that comes with a two-month free trial. This paid tier provides users with 2TB of storage, deep integration of Gemini into Workspace apps like Docs and Sheets, and effectively sunsets the previous Duet AI brand for enterprise features.
The tech giant also rolls out a dedicated Gemini app for Android and brings the assistant to the Google app on iOS, allowing Android users to fully replace Google Assistant with Gemini. Currently, this Gemini Advanced experience launches in over 150 countries but remains restricted to English, with Japanese and Korean support planned for the near future.