• Google has announced a flurry of updates for its AI offerings, including Gemini Advanced.
• Gemini Advanced gives users in 150 countries access to Google’s Ultra 1.0 AI model.
• It’s currently available in English only for now, but more languages will be added in time, Google confirmed.

Bard is dead, long live Gemini.

Perhaps unsurprisingly Google has chosen to rename its public-facing AI platform, as Gemini becomes the agreed upon convention for this recently created ecosystem.

“Bard has been the best way for people to directly experience our most capable models. To reflect the advanced tech at its core, 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 company confirmed in a blog post.

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

Unpacking the capabilities of Gemini Advanced, Google noted that it is far more capable at highly complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, following nuanced instructions, and collaborating on creative projects.

Gemini Advanced not only allows you to have longer, more detailed conversations, as well as being it better at understanding the context from previous prompts.

Examples for the use of this new offering include:

• “Gemini Advanced can be your personal tutor — creating step-by-step instructions, sample quizzes or back-and-forth discussions tailored to your learning style.
• It can help you with more advanced coding scenarios, serving as a sounding board for ideas and helping you evaluate different coding approaches.
• It can help digital creators go from idea to creation by generating fresh content, analyzing recent trends and brainstorming improved ways to grow their audiences.”

Gemini Advanced is available today in more than 150 countries and territories, including South Africa, but is limited to English for now, with Google promising that more languages will be added in time.

Accessing Gemini Advanced will require the new Google One AI Premium Plan, which is listed at R429.99 per month locally. There is, however, a starter offer of a two-month trial at no cost.

“This plan gives the best of Google AI and our latest advancements, along with all the benefits of the existing Google One Premium plan, such as 2TB of storage. In addition, AI Premium subscribers will soon be able to use Gemini in Gmail, Docs, Slides, Sheets and more,” Google noted in a release shared with Hypertext.