Google Gemini clad as Google Assistant app by default on Android

Google's recently released artificial intelligence assistant named Gemini seems to be blurring the line — drawn to differentiate between Google Assistant and itself — as the company has now replaced the former's icon with that of later one. 

In a significant development, the search engine giant recently rebranded its Google Bard as Gemini, which can be said to be Gemini's base variant as it was originally released and known as Bard. Whereas, Gemini was formerly known to be an upscaled, enhanced form of Google Bard. 

Google also allowed Android users to switch from Google Assistant to Gemini, while also letting them make it the default AI assistant on their devices. However, with the current revelation at hand, it seems that Google is all geared up to entirely wipe out Assistant completely and replace it with Gemini.

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If you do not currently have the Google Assistant app on your Android device, you can download it from the Play Store and it will come with Gemini AI by default. 

Interestingly, the app icon will display Gemini instead of Google Assistant. Additionally, if you have also installed the standalone Gemini Android app, you may see two instances of Gemini on your list of apps. 

However, if you open the Gemini app that appears after downloading Google Assistant, you can access the Settings and switch back to Assistant. This will change the app icon and display it as Assistant instead of Gemini.

A Reddit user brought to the spotlight a strange change that Google is making. They noticed that after a regular app update via the Play Store, the Assistant app on their new Galaxy S24 Plus automatically changed to Gemini.

As Gemini's availability and reach grow, it is expected to adopt more Assistant features. This appears to be the first indication that we will soon bid our farewell to the Google Assistant.