# Why is Google Bard now called Gemini, and what is Gemini Advanced?

Date: 2024-02-09 · Author: Robert Scales · https://guidetoartificialintelligence.com/en/learn/why-bard-is-now-gemini-and-what-is-gemini-advanced/

**Answer:** On February 8, 2024, Google renamed its Bard chatbot to Gemini, after the family of AI models that powers it, and launched Gemini Advanced, a paid tier that runs on its largest model, Ultra 1.0. The free version keeps running on Gemini Pro, while Gemini Advanced costs $19.99 a month as part of a new Google One AI Premium plan, and a Gemini mobile app is starting to roll out.

Yesterday, February 8, 2024, Google's chatbot changed its name. **Bard**, the assistant Google opened to the public last year, is now called **Gemini**. The same day, Google launched **Gemini Advanced**, a paid version that runs on its most powerful model, and began rolling out a Gemini app for phones.

The name change can be confusing, because "Gemini" already meant something else. In December, Google introduced Gemini as a family of AI models, the engines that read your prompt and write the reply. Now the chatbot you talk to carries the same name as the engine underneath it.

## Why Google dropped the name Bard

Google's explanation is simple. Bard was always meant to give people direct access to Google's AI models, and Gemini is its most capable family of models. So, in Google's words, Bard "will now simply be known as Gemini."

The website moved too. 9to5Google reports that bard.google.com now redirects to **gemini.google.com**, that the "Experiment" label is gone and that the page has a new side menu with settings, activity and help. The free chatbot still runs on **Gemini Pro 1.0**, the mid-size model, and is available in more than 40 languages and over 230 countries and territories. It reached Canada the same day.

## What Gemini Advanced is

Gemini Advanced is the paid tier. Its main difference is the engine: it uses **Ultra 1.0**, the largest model in the Gemini family, which Google first described in December and is now releasing.

Google says Ultra is much better at complex work: writing and checking code, logical reasoning, following detailed instructions and helping with creative projects. It also says Gemini Advanced holds longer conversations and makes better use of what you said earlier in a chat. In blind tests run with outside raters, people who compared answers without knowing which chatbot wrote them preferred Gemini Advanced over the leading alternatives, according to Google. That is the company's own test, so it is worth checking against your own experience.

Here is how the two options compare today:

| | Gemini (free) | Gemini Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Pro 1.0 | Ultra 1.0 |
| Price | Free | $19.99 a month, after a two-month free trial |
| Comes with | A Google account | Google One AI Premium: 2 TB of storage and other Google One benefits |
| Languages and reach | 40+ languages, 230+ countries and territories | English, in more than 150 countries and territories |
| Coming later | | Gemini inside Gmail, Docs, Slides and Sheets; more image, coding and data analysis features |

The tool that put AI into Gmail and Docs used to be called Duet AI. It is being folded into the Gemini name as well and is coming to AI Premium subscribers soon. Inside the website, 9to5Google notes, you switch between the regular and Advanced models from a menu at the top left.

## The new Gemini app

On Android, Gemini arrives as an app. If you install it, or opt in through Google Assistant, you can call up Gemini the same way you call the Assistant: by holding the power button, swiping from a corner on some phones or saying "Hey Google." A panel then appears on top of whatever you are doing, so you can ask about the article on your screen or get a caption for a photo you just took. Google says many Assistant voice features, such as timers, calls and smart home controls, work through the app, with more to come.

On iPhone, Gemini will appear inside the Google app, behind a toggle, over the coming weeks. The mobile rollout starts in the United States in English, with Japanese, Korean and more countries following from next week.

Google gives three everyday examples of what phone access allows: photograph a flat tire and ask what to do, create an image for a dinner invitation, or get help wording a difficult text message.

## Why it matters

The rename tells you how Google sees the product. Bard was presented as an experiment; Gemini is presented as Google's main AI assistant, on the web, on Android and inside its office apps. Putting it on the power button of Android phones puts it where many people already speak to the Google Assistant.

Gemini Advanced also brings a pricing pattern that many people already know from other chatbots: a capable free version, and a monthly subscription for the strongest model. At $19.99, Google bundles it with storage rather than selling it alone.

Google says it tested Gemini Advanced before launch with trust and safety checks, including red-teaming, which means outside experts deliberately try to make the model misbehave, and refined it with fine-tuning and reinforcement learning from human feedback, a training step in which people rate answers so the model learns which ones are preferred.

> **Try it:** Ask the free Gemini and, if you start the trial, Gemini Advanced the same multi-step question, for example a plan to learn basic Spanish in eight weeks with a weekly quiz. Compare how well each one follows every part of your request.

## Should you try the free Gemini or pay for Gemini Advanced?

Start free. Gemini with Pro 1.0 handles everyday tasks well: summaries, emails, brainstorming and simple explanations. Use it for a week on real work and notice where it falls short.

Consider Gemini Advanced if your tasks are complex: long coding sessions, step-by-step tutoring, careful reasoning or detailed instructions with many conditions. The two-month free trial lets you test it on the same tasks before you pay. The AI Premium plan includes the benefits of Google One's 2 TB Premium tier, so if you already pay for that storage, compare the two prices before deciding.

Whichever you choose, keep the usual habits. Check facts that matter, avoid pasting sensitive personal information, and remember that Gemini Advanced works in English only for now.

## Sources

- Bard becomes Gemini: Try Ultra 1.0 and a new mobile app today: https://blog.google/products/gemini/bard-gemini-advanced-app/
- Google renames Bard to Gemini, launches paid 'Gemini Advanced' with Ultra 1.0: https://9to5google.com/2024/02/08/google-gemini-advanced/