Google Assistant is being killed off in a few short months
The writing has been on the wall for some time, but Google Assistant’s days are not only officially numbered, but we have a far better idea of when the once-revolutionary digital assistant will be vanishing.
The seemingly unstoppable wave of artificial intelligence means that Google Gemini has been long seen as being far more significant and useful than Google Assistant. Having made some vague suggestions about Assistant being upgraded with Gemini at some point in the future, Google has now revealed a bit more detail about the timeline.
Google has not made a big announcement about the end of Google Assistant, instead slipping the news into a support document. In a document entitled Talk to Gemini or Google Assistant the company says:
Gemini is replacing Google Assistant on most mobile devices. Learn more about what you can do with Gemini, privacy, protection of minors and availability for supported devices, languages and territories. Gemini will understand the same commands as Google Assistant and also give you the option to speak naturally. Google Assistant is still available for use until March 2026.
While the article relates to Android Auto, it does mean that Google Assistant will also be disappearing from other devices where it can still currently be found.
Although the demise of Google Assistant has been inevitable for some time, it is not something that will please everyone. Not only will the shift to Google Gemini rile anyone who has an aversion to artificial intelligence, there are also various instances of Gemini failing to deliver the same functionality as Assistant – something Android Authority points out.
The timing of the shuttering of Google Assistant is interesting. The digital assistant has been around since 2019, meaning that the March execution falls just before its tenth anniversary.
If you have made the switch from Google Assistant to Google Gemini, what have you noticed? Are there things that do not work in the same way? What has improved and what has got worse? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.