The Google Assistant Android app is now Gemini by default

Google introduced the Gemini Android app recently. It gives Android users the option to switch from Google Assistant to Gemini and make it the default AI assistant on their phones. However, it appears that Google is preparing to phase out Assistant entirely and replace it entirely with Gemini.

If you don't already have the Google Assistant app on Android and downloaded it now from the Play Store, you'll get Gemini AI by default. Even the app icon says Gemini instead of Google Assistant. What's weird is that if you also download the standalone Gemini Android app, you'll now see two instances of Gemini in your app list.

When you open the Gemini app that pops up once you download Google Assistant, you can go to Settings and return to Assistant. This will then change the app icon and show the app as Assistant instead of Gemini.

a Reddit user We were alerted to this strange change by Google when they noticed that the Assistant app in the new Galaxy S24 Plus phone had changed to Gemini automatically after updating the regular app via the Play Store. The user has never opted in to use Gemini on their phone instead of Assistant. They didn't even have the standalone Gemini app on their phone when the assistant automatically switched to Gemini.

With Google granting Gemini Assistant a free download by default, it's clear that the company is planning on wiping the Assistant out of existence eventually. We know that Gemini will increasingly embrace more Assistant features as their availability and reach grows. This seems to be the first sign that we should be ready to say goodbye to the good ol' Google Assistant.