Google rebrands Bard as Gemini with new subscription plan

Google Bard rebranding: Google has rebranded its AI Bard chatbot as Gemini with a paid subscription service in a bid to compete with Microsoft for subscribers. The Alphabet subsidiary announced that US consumers can now subscribe to Gemini Advanced for $19.99 per month, offering access to the more powerful Ultra 1.0 AI model. 

Subscribers will also receive two terabytes of cloud storage, a value of $9.99 monthly, and will soon have access to Gemini in Gmail and Google's productivity suite.

This subscription, known as the Google One AI Premium plan, is seen as a move to rival Microsoft and its partner OpenAI in the increasingly competitive AI subscription market. It follows the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT Plus last year and Microsoft's recent announcement of a similar subscription for AI in programs like Word and Excel, both priced at $20 per month in the United States.

According to Product Lead Jack Krawczyk, Google's subscription offering is designed to integrate seamlessly with users' workflows, with cloud storage, Gmail, and other integrations enhancing the overall value proposition.

Gemini targets users who require advanced generative AI technology capable of generating content on demand and handling queries without obvious online answers. Leveraging its vast base of Android phone users, Google plans to make Gemini accessible as the default digital assistant through various channels, including an app, the power button, or voice commands such as "Hey Google."

Gemini Advanced is initially available in English across 150 countries, with a two-month subscription trial offered to users at no cost. The rollout will expand internationally, starting with the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and other regions, with additional language support in Japanese and Korean.

Explaining the name change, Krawczyk highlighted Google's evolving AI strategy, stating that the rebranding marks the transition from the Bard era to the Gemini era.

(With Reuters inputs)