Google has announced that it will phase out Google Assistant later this year, transitioning to its new offering, Gemini, across various devices. This decision follows the gradual removal of multiple features and a clear shift in focus toward Gemini.
As a result, by the time Assistant is fully retired, it will have lost much of its former functionality. Recently, Google revealed it will eliminate even more “underutilized features” as part of this transition.
According to an updated support page, Google is committed to improving the Assistant experience by prioritizing the most valuable features. As a consequence, the company will remove several capabilities, including the ability to favorite and share photos using voice commands, change photo frame settings, and use Interpreter mode for live translations.
While users can still manage photos through the Google Photos app or adjust settings directly on their Smart Displays, many interactive voice commands will be lost. Other removed features include birthday reminder notifications and Family Bell announcements, both of which were popular among users for scheduling and reminders.
Google’s plan will also see the discontinuation of daily updates from Assistant, although users can still create custom Routines to access similar information, such as weather updates. As a workaround for the features being retired, Google suggests users set up Routines.
These customized commands can mimic some of the lost functionalities. While Google has not provided a specific timeline for when these changes will take effect, notifications will be sent to users when they attempt to utilize any retiring features, indicating when they will cease to work.
Leave a Reply