Google is going to close this product, now Gemini will take over

Google launched Google Assistant on Android phones as an AI assistant in 2016 but now intends to discontinue it. Google officially made an announcement in a statement that its original Google Assistant will retire in the near future. Gemini will be introduced in Android phones as a default assistant in lieu of the original Google Assistant. In its announcement in the blog post, the organization stated that by the end of this year, Google Assistant will be eliminated from most Android phones and the app will no longer be downloadable.

Google confirmed that tablets, vehicles, and other connected devices such as headphones, smartwatches, and other devices will also receive an update to Gemini Assistant. Not only this, this AI-based assistant will also be rolled out into home devices such as smart speakers, smart displays, and TVs as well.

Generative AI is being cited as the biggest reason for shutting down Google Assistant. Google's senior director Brian Marquardt said, "When we launched Google Assistant in 2016, natural language processing and voice recognition technology made digital assistants even better. But now generative AI is bringing a big change, so we needed to redefine the assistant."

Gemini has been developed as an AI-powered assistant that will give users a smarter and more effective experience. Google believes that now people expect more advanced and smart functions from their assistant, which Gemini has been designed to fulfill.

However, Google Assistant will not disappear completely. The company has clarified that it will remain available on devices running on Android 9 or older versions. Also, it can be used on devices with at least 2GB of RAM.