Google Gemini is expanding to more regions next week

Summary

• Google has renamed its AI chatbot to Gemini and it can now replace Google Assistant through the Gemini app. However, the app is currently geo-limited.
• The Gemini launch is a significant milestone for Google’s AI technology, but it is only available in the US for now. More features and support for other regions are coming soon.
• People in the EU may have to wait longer for the Gemini-powered assistant to go live, and it is unclear why the UK is not included in the expanded availability. In the meantime, users can try Gemini on the web.

Google’s Bard rebrand was in the pipeline for a while, and today, the company finally renamed its AI chatbot to Gemini, even giving it the ability to replace Google Assistant. However, you need to install the Gemini app for that to work, and that’s geo-limited for now. Google won’t keep people waiting for long, and we have confirmation that the Gemini app will soon be available broadly, but there are caveats.

Google’s launch of the Gemini chatbot is a watershed moment in the company’s AI tech journey, but comes alongside a heap of related announcements, including the availability of the Gemini Advanced model through Google One. Perhaps the company’s most important decision, however, is to replace Assistant with Gemini. To make it work, Google Bard product lead Jack Krawczyk explained that you need to update the Google app on your phone, install the new Google Gemini app, and summon your digital assistant with the gesture shortcut or hotword, then opt into the Gemini experience when prompted.

Disappointingly, this transition for Assistant to the new LLM, like the Gemini app itself, is only available in the US right now, although Gemini is broadly available on the web. Even when Android Police staff tried sideloading the Gemini APK on devices in Europe and India, the app refused to work, citing geo-restrictions. Coming to the rescue with critical information again, Krawczyk posted on X that more features are in the pipeline, and support for Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America, and Africa is coming next week — Monday, to be precise.

While that’s an exciting list of several large markets, Krawczyk doesn’t mention the EU or UK. To recall, Bard was off to a delayed start in the EU, launching only in July even though most other regions obtained access in March 2023. The Irish Data Protection Commission was forced to delay the launch due to insufficient documentation detailing Bard’s impact on data protection for users in the EU. With the transition to Gemini, it appears people in the EU might have to wait a while before the Gemini-powered assistant goes live. That still doesn’t explain why the UK isn’t on the list for expanded availability, because last year, users there could access Bard in March like everyone else, while EU users waited.

In the interim, everyone can try Gemini on the web, because even the Bard website now redirects to Gemini. Thankfully, your valuable conversation history with Bard is carried over, so you don’t lose any info you may have left unutilized. Moreover, Assistant running on Gemini still feels like a rough draft, and not a drop-in replacement. At the time of writing, you still need to hit Send on every voice command, and there are several other limitations, but it unlocks exciting potential through integration with other Google apps.