Google Assistant, the digital assistant available launched for Android back in 2016 will soon be joining the Google Graveyard. In a blog post, Google announced that the almost decade old digital assistant will soon be replaced by the generative AI powered Gemini. The tech giant says “millions of people have already made the switch from Google Assistant to Gemini” and that the old digital assistant will be inaccessible and unavailable for download on mobile devices starting later this year. Apart from smartphones, tablets, cars and devices like headphones and smartwatches will also be making the transition to Gemini. Until then, these devices will continue to work with Google Assistant. However, the company is yet to share details on how Gemini will work on these devices. In case you are yet to make the switch from Google Assistant to Gemini, simply download the Gemini app from the Google Play Store and you will be able to switch to the new AI powered assistant with a few taps. In the last couple of months, Google has ported over several Assistant features to Gemini, such as the ability to play music, control certain functionalities from the lock screen and set timers. However, certain functionalities are yet to make their way to Gemini, which may be one of the reasons why Google needs a few months to shut down its older digital assistant. The company’s announcement to kill Google Assistant in favour of Gemini isn’t surprising, considering the tech giant launched the Pixel 9 series with Gemini as the default virtual assistant.
