The writing was already on the wall, but now it’s official: The Google Assistant era is over.
In a blog post Friday, Google announced plans for Google Assistant’s final phase-out, starting on mobile and continuing with tablets, cars, and mobile-connected devices such as headphones and tablets. Finally, Google Assistant will be going away on Nest smart speakers and displays as well as on Google TV devices.
Google Assistant’s replacement will, of course, be Gemini, Google’s entry in the generative AI race. Gemini itself will become the new assistant on Google mobile devices such as phones and tablets, while a “new experience powered by Gemini” is coming to smart speakers and displays.
The hand-off will occur “over the coming months,” Google said, with Google Assistant to get yanked from mobile devices and app stores “later this year.” Meanwhile, Google Assistant will “continue to operate” on Nest speakers and displays as well as Google TV devices until the new Gemini-powered “experience” arrives, Google added.
Gemini is already well on its way to taking the place of Google Assistant on Google’s mobile lineup, where it’s become the de facto voice assistant, although vestiges of Google Assistant still remain.
Gemini’s arrival on Google’s lineup of smart devices has been more tentative. Last November, an extension to the Gemini app gave the LLM direct if limited control of Google Home-connected smart devices for the first time. Originally available only in Google’s public preview program, the extension has since gone into wide release.
By December, Gemini began making its way onto Google’s Nest speakers, namely the Nest Audio and Nest Mini, starting once again with Google’s public preview program, and only for those subscribed to a paid Nest Aware plan. As of now, access to Gemini on Nest speakers remains quite limited, meaning the vast majority of us Nest device users are still chatting with Google Assistant.
First introduced alongside the very first Google Home speaker, Google Assistant originally made its debut in 2016, a couple of years after Alexa arrived five years after Apple’s Siri voice assistant. Google Assistant eventually landed on most of Google’s prime devices, including phones, tablets, watches, and—of course—smart speakers.
But with the explosive growth of generative AI and the arrival of Google’s Gemini, Google Assistant’s role in Google’s product line quickly receded. Soon, it was no longer of whether Google Assistant would go away, but when.
Meanwhile, Amazon is upgrading Alexa with Alexa+, an all-new version of Alexa powered by a blend of LLMs. Alexa+, which will be free for Prime subscribers and $19.99 a month for everyone else, is slated to make its debut later this month. The “classic” Alexa will stick around, and it will remain free.
Then there’s Apple, which had a rough week after news broke that Siri’s big AI-makeover has been delayed.