--- title: "Google Renames Its Forgettable AI in Fight to Stay Relevant" description: "Google's AI chatbot, Bard, is now just called \"Gemini\" — the name of the company's most advanced large language model." date: "2024-02-08" modified: "2024-02-08" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-renames-forgettable-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Google" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "gemini" - "Google" - "the digest" --- # Google Renames Its Forgettable AI in Fight to Stay Relevant ![]() *\Image: Google\* ## Island of Lost Bots Google's AI chatbot, Bard, has officially been sent upstate, to the Big Tech sunsetted product farm. Just a few short months after rival OpenAI's ChatGPT was released into public hands — reportedly prompting a "[code red]()" to be issued within a nonplussed Google — Bard [launched]() in early 2023. The two competing chatbots are effectively the same thing. But while they might be comparable in ability, ChatGPT handily has more name recognition among the public than Bard ever did. Now, less than a year after Bard's release, Google appears determined to change that. As of today, Google has rebranded its AI product suite — Bard included — under one name: Gemini, the name of the[ advanced large language model]() (LLM) that powers the search giant's generative AI ambitions. "Our mission with Bard has always been to give you direct access to our AI models, and Gemini represents our most capable family of models," Google Vice President and Gemini general manager Sissie Hsiao stated in a company [blog post](), published earlier today. "To reflect this, Bard will now simply be known as Gemini." ## RIP In addition to the name alteration, Google made another big — and directly competitive — change to Bard: it introduced a payment tier. Users can now cough up $19.99 each month to access "Gemini Advanced," a version of the chatbot powered by [Ultra 1.0](), described by Google in a blog post as the "largest and most capable" Gemini model. If that sounds familiar, it's because OpenAI offers a similar, $20-per-month [payment tier]() granting customers access to OpenAI's most advanced LLM, GPT-4. Another notable change amid the brand overhaul: Google's decision to absorb "Duet AI" — a workplace AI assistant designed to compete with Microsoft's impressive AI "Copilot" tool — under the Gemini umbrella. Setting aside the fact that Gemini also happens to be the name of the Winklevii Twins' embattled [crypto trading platform](), rebranding everything under Gemini feels like a smart move. As [*The Verge* points out,]() Google has a [notorious habit]() of giving its products extremely confusing names. If it hopes to streamline its AI tools to encourage public adoption and brand awareness, a sleek catch-all invoking the powerful underlying AI model is a far better strategy. Even so, it's painfully apparent that Google is still playing catch-up — maybe not on the technological side, [but certainly in cultural cachet](). And that's something requiring a little more than a rebrand to fix. **More on Google AI:** [*AI Search Engine Bungles Facts When Profiled by The New York Times*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()