Google Bard died. Bard will be renamed Gemini, the name of its foundation models, almost precisely a year after its hasty attempts to beat OpenAI’s ChatGPT. More significantly, it is unveiling Gemini Ultra, its most powerful big language model.
The Gemini Ultra experience will cost money. A new $20 Google One tier (with a two-month free trial) provides 2TB of storage, all of Google One’s features, and access to Gemini in Google Workspace applications including Docs, Slides, Sheets, and Meet. With that, Google will also retire the Duet AI name, which was largely used for workspace AI capabilities, and shift them to Gemini.
The business is also creating a new Android Gemini app and adding it to the Google app on iOS. On Android, users may replace Google Assistant with Gemini. Developers that want Ultra Model API access will hear more from Google in the coming weeks.
Although solely in English, Gemini Advanced will be accessible in over 150 nations and territories. Future languages include Japanese and Korean.
Gemini Ultra 1.0
Google only released the Gemini Pro via Bard when it debuted the Gemini. Google said Gemini Pro performed similarly to GPT-3.5, but with GPT-4 publicly accessible, that statement was disappointing. Google claimed Gemini Ultra, the flagship model, will arrive in early 2024, following private testing. The Ultra model was part of a premium package, Bard Advanced, now Gemini Advanced, even though the business didn’t state so.
“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,” Google’s Sissie Hsiao stated in a press briefing before today’s release. Google sees more than models in Gemini. It’s a change in how we see state-of-the-art technology and the ecosystem we’re creating around it, from products that influence billions of consumers to APIs and platforms that developers and companies use to create.
Hsiao also noted that Google renamed Bard to Gemini to reflect that its most advanced technology is at its core (though if Google, with its immense branding expertise, launches a more capable model and calls it Aries instead of Gemini Ultra Super Pro Max 3.0, who knows what it will call Bard then?). Google advertises Bard’s user ratings, but many early users never returned after lackluster outcomes, making a makeover virtually necessary.
Bard already converted to Gemini Pro, so free users won’t notice anything. The Gemini Ultra 1.0 model is available to Gemini Advanced subscribers. How wonderful is Gemini Ultra 1.0? We’ll have to test it. Google was ambiguous about its capabilities during this week’s press presentation.
“With our Ultra 1.0 model, Gemini Advanced is far more capable at highly complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, following nuanced instructions, and creative collaboration, among others,” Hsiao said. Gemini Advanced lets you compose longer prompts and understands your prior prompts. Gemini Ultra 1.0 is multi-model, so you may talk about pictures.
Advanced Gemini
Gemini Advanced, the only method to achieve Ultra 1.0, requires a $20 Google One AI Premium membership. This plan has the same advantages as Google One Premium (2TB of storage, exclusive Google Photos editing, Google Meet premium video, and Google Calendar’s advanced appointment scheduling). Also, customers may use the advanced model anywhere Gemini is offered. They will soon get access to Gemini in Google Workspace, which may be similar to Microsoft Copilot, but Google didn’t disclose specifics.
The most powerful AI chat programs, like ChatGPT, cost $20 per month. Google can add these capabilities without charging more (the margins on these Google One storage plans are likely fairly large).
The free two-month trial is a fantastic bonus if you’re already a Google One user and upgrade to AI Premium.
Google announces Gemini Ultra, their strongest LLM.
