Google bids farewell to Bard and introduces Gemini, a rebranding of its family of foundation models. The highlight of this transformation is the launch of Gemini Ultra, the most advanced large language model from Google yet.
The Ultra version comes to the stage after being announced at the end of last year when Google revealed that Google Bard was powered by Gemini.
“Gemini Ultra 1.0 is a model that sets the state of the art across a wide range of benchmarks across text, image, audio and video. For Google, Gemini is more than just the models. It’s really a shift in how we think about the state-of-the-art technology and the entire ecosystem that we’re building on it, from products that affect billions of users, to the APIs and platforms that developers and businesses use to innovate,“said Sissie Hsiao, Vice President at Google and General Manager for Google Assistant and Bard.
The evolution to Gemini
Almost a year after its initial foray into challenging OpenAI's ChatGPT with Bard, Google has decided to retire the Bard name and embrace the new identity of Gemini. This shift reflects Google's commitment to advancing state-of-the-art technology and building a robust ecosystem around it.
Gemini Ultra takes center stage as Google's most capable AI model, offering unparalleled performance across text, image, audio, and video benchmarks. With features like same-day trend analysis, proactive monitoring of customer sentiment, and dynamic creation of call topics, Gemini Ultra is set to redefine the landscape of AI-powered language models.
Access to Ultra 1.0
For users seeking an enhanced AI experience, Google introduces Gemini Advanced. Powered by the formidable Ultra 1.0 model, Gemini Advanced excels in complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, and creative collaboration. Users can engage in detailed conversations, enjoying an improved understanding of context from previous prompts. Gemini Advanced is now part of the new $20 Google One AI Premium plan.
A new mobile revolution
Recognizing the need for easy accessibility, Google introduces a new mobile experience for Gemini. Available as a dedicated app on Android and integrated into the Google app on iOS, users can seamlessly interact with Gemini on the go. The Android version even allows users to replace Google Assistant with Gemini, providing a more conversational and multimodal AI assistant.
Google emphasizes its commitment to a bold yet responsible approach in deploying advanced AI technology. Extensive trust and safety checks, external red-teaming, and continuous refinement through fine-tuning and reinforcement learning ensure a secure and reliable user experience. The Gemini Technical Report provides detailed insights into Google's safety measures.
Availability
While Gemini Advanced is currently available in more than 150 countries in English, Google has ambitious plans for expansion. Japanese and Korean languages are next on the roadmap, with a promise to broaden language support in the future. Gemini aims to offer a truly global and inclusive AI experience.
