Major changes are in store for Bard, Google's AI chatbot and direct competitor to ChatGPT. Like its rival, Bard will soon propose a paid version, as well as a dedicated mobile application. It will also change its name to Gemini.

It's goodbye Bard, and hello Gemini. According to a screenshot posted by an Android developer on X, as of Wednesday, February 7, Bard is set to be rebranded as Gemini, adopting the name of the multimodal generative artificial intelligence recently launched by Google, and which powers the chatbot. This will avoid any confusion. But the social media post reveals other important information.

The new name also appears to be synonymous with a new beginning, with Gemini poised to become available in two versions - a free version and a paid-for service called Gemini Advanced. Billed as being more powerful, the latter will be able to handle complex tasks, particularly in the fields of coding, logical reasoning and creative collaboration. This paid version is due to be launched in over 150 countries, but will initially only be available in English, at an as yet unconfirmed price.

What's more, a first dedicated app, in English only, should soon be available for Android just about everywhere, with the notable exception of the European Union. Japanese and Korean versions are also planned. On iPhone, it will be possible to use it directly via the Google application, in the form of a chat tool.

These changes for Bard amount to a strategy reminiscent of that followed by ChatGPT, the competitor AI chatbot from OpenAI. This already has its own dedicated application and a more comprehensive, high-performance paid version. All Gemini needs next is a text-to-speech tool allowing users to chat directly with the bot.

 - AFP Relaxnews