If you use the Gemini app on your Android device, Google Assistant will be automatically disabled

Are you prepared to switch over entirely to Google Gemini from Google Assistant? Many Android users are asking themselves that question right now. Yesterday, Google revealed in a somewhat unexpected way that Bard AI has been renamed and, to be honest, refurbished into Gemini, with a number of improvements following suit. The new Gemini app for Android has caused quite the stir, as it offers a significant improvement over the previous method of accessing AI through your smartphone’s browser. But there is a price for using Google Assistant.

As we mentioned yesterday, on Android smartphones and tablets, Gemini is currently limited in what it can accomplish compared to Google Assistant. But there’s more drawback, as Android Authority found out: you have to select between Gemini and Google Assistant. Your phone’s digital assistant instantly transitions from Google Assistant to Gemini when you accept the terms of service. Gemini will greet you the next time you activate the assistant with a long-press, swipe gesture, or Hey Google hotword.

The same holds true if you download the Gemini app and use one of the shortcuts listed above to call up your Assistant. If you choose this method, you will be asked to change from Assistant to Gemini. Saying “yes” will undoubtedly result in Gemini taking on the role of assistance. The next time you launch the Gemini app, the same opt-in page greets you if you answer no. The next time you launch the Gemini app, you’ll see the same opt-in page, even if you choose to make the Gemini experience your default assistant and later go into the app’s settings to change back. Stated differently, it is impossible to utilize the Gemini app without it replacing Google Assistant.

This indicates that Google Assistant’s end is likely approaching sooner rather than later. It’s another death push, not a death blow. It’s official now that the Google Assistant Driving Mode was officially discontinued in February, so we shouldn’t be surprised that Gemini is currently the Cuckoo bird in the Google Assistant nest. Given that Assistant debuted in 2016, it’s somewhat amazing that it hasn’t yet been included in our yearly list of What Google Killed.

Modern large language models (LLMs) are being used in daily life, which indicates that new assistants will eventually completely replace previous, “dumber” helpers. Even though Gemini is excellent on its own, it isn’t quite ready to replace Assistant in all capacities. Gemini appears to take slower to actually register questions, even if it is significantly better at addressing difficult, perhaps tedious queries that Google Assistant becomes stuck on. While interactions are a little slower, Gemini is simply an Assistant at the highest level for some tasks. For certain jobs, Assistant is still required.

For now, those who are satisfied with their Assistant experience don’t need to replace it. Actually, all of the capabilities that Gemini advertises are available to you if you visit the company’s website on a laptop or mobile device. We are left wondering, “Why should we bother downloading the app?” after all of that. Accepting Gemini as your one and only helper will pay you greatly in the future, but that time is not now. Before that time, perhaps Google needs to begin cleaning up its product branding procedure.