Get ready for a smarter, more versatile Google Assistant. A deep dive into the app’s code reveals exciting details about “Assistant with Bard,” the merger of the classic assistant and Google’s powerful AI, Bard, that was announced back at the Made by Google event earlier this year.
While Google has yet to announce a firm launch date for its AI-enhanced Assistant with Bard, which is expected to fully replace the existing Assistant experience on supported Android devices, a code deep dive performed by 9to5Google has found that work might just be nearly complete on this project. The findings reveal that the Google app has been updated with some new designs, including a look at its popup window and tab switcher. The company is also tweaking its recently launched stocks and finance widget.
The APK teardown also revealed that the Assistant with Bard experience will be prominently placed on the Discover page of the Google Search app. The new button is reminiscent of a physical slider switch and sits at the top of the page, above the Google logo, rather than as part of the existing bottom bar. It is not clear whether this is intended to be a permanent fixture of the Discover tab or a temporary reminder to check out Assistant with Bard if you haven’t already.
9to5Google also managed to enable the actual popup window that you’ll use to submit new prompts/questions to Assistant with Bard. Using the three buttons along the bottom, you can type or speak a message and/or share a photo with the Assistant. This design was first seen in Google’s initial previews of its AI tool at the Pixel 8 event in October.
Credit: 9to5Google
Google Search is also preparing a more prominent message encouraging you to upgrade your Assistant to include Bard AI features. Appearing above the typical Assistant sheet, a new popup suggests a few ways that Assistant with Bard can help you.
Credit: 9to5Google
Assistant with Bard is designed to be accessed in the same ways as the existing Assistant, such as by long-pressing the Power button or saying “Hey Google.” It will be interesting to see the final product and how it will mesh with the rest of the Android Operating System or even the Pixel Launcher once it goes live.
