Google is one of the top AI companies in the tech industry, and it has one of the most powerful generative AI products out there. It’s called Gemini Advanced, and it’s positioned to steal some users from ChatGPT. But, what is Gemini Advanced?

Throughout 2023, Google’s primary AI chatbot was Bard, but it’s been renamed to Gemini, and that caused a little bit of confusion among tech users. The fact that Google unveiled yet another AI product on the same day didn’t help anything. This product is Gemini Advanced. This piece is going to explain what this chatbot is, what it can do, and how it might help you with your AI needs.

What do all of the names mean?

Right now, you’re grappling with five different terms. They are Gemini, Gemini Nano, Gemini Pro, Gemini Ultra, and Gemini Advanced. It’s important to know what all of these terms mean in order to gain an understanding of what Google has going on. It can get a little confusing.

Gemini is the chatbot that you use when you sign up to use it. It’s the interface that you interact with. The same thing goes for Gemini Advanced. How are these two different? We’ll explain in just a bit.

Gemini Nano, Gemini Pro, and Gemini Ultra are the models powering the chatbots. If a chatbot is a person’s face, then a model would be their brain. The model contains all of the information, processes data, etc. The more powerful the model, the better the responses.

Gemini Nano is the smallest and least capable model, so it’s able to fit on smartphone chips. Next up, Gemini Pro is a more standard size. It’s comparable to GPT-3.5 that’s powering ChatGPT for free users. The most powerful model is Gemini Ultra.

When you sign up for the free version of Gemini (the chatbot), it will be powered by Gemini Pro (the model). However, Gemini Advanced (chatbot) is a version of the chatbot that’s powered by Gemini Ultra (model).

How much does Gemini Advanced cost?

This is what people have been wondering for the longest time. Firstly, you can’t buy a Gemini Advanced subscription by itself. It comes bundled with a Google One subscription. This is the Google One AI Premium subscription, and it will cost you $19.99/month.

With this plan, you will also receive other perks like 2TB of cloud storage, 10% back on Google Play Store purchases, longer Google Meet meetings, and more. It’s nice having all of these perks, but you’ll need to be careful if you’re coming from a free account. The jump from 15GB to 2TB is pretty massive. If you decide that you don’t want Gemini Advanced anymore, you’ll lose access to any files you’ve uploaded after crossing 15GB.

How do I sign up for Gemini Advanced?

You can sign up for Gemini Advanced either through the website or through the Google One App. If you’re using your computer, go to the Google One website. This will show you the different price tiers that you can sign up for. Look for the Google One AI Premium plan. Click on the Upgrade button, and the payment screen will come up.

If you’re already a Google One customer, then you’ll already have your payment information. You’ll just need to click on the Subscribe button on the bottom right of the screen. If you’re new to Google One, then you’ll need to put your payment information in.

Using the app

If you’re using the Google One app, it’s also easy to sign up. Open the Google One app and tap on the hamburger-style button at the top left of the screen (the three horizontal lines). When the panel slides in from the left, tap on the Membership plans button. This will show you a list of the payment plans that you can choose. Look for the plan, and tap on the price button.

When the panel rises from the bottom, tap on the Subscribe button. After you do that, you’ll be able to use Gemini Advanced.

How do I access Gemini Advanced?

There are two ways to access Gemini Advanced. Just like when signing up for it, you can access it through the website and the app. After signing up to the Google One AI Premium plan, go to gemini.google.com to access it on your web browser. If you want to use the app, then you just need to download the app. You can download the app from the Google Play Store.

Once you’re subscribed to Gemini Advanced, you’ll be able to use the advanced model right away.

This is just like accessing regular Gemini. So, if you don’t want Advanced, these steps will still apply.

What can I do with Gemini Advanced?

The list of things that Gemini Advanced can’t do would be shorter than the list of what it can do. Being an advanced AI model developed by a trillion-dollar company, you’re able to do a TON of different things with it. Here are some examples:

Encyclopedia information

Many people use generative AI to get answers to general questions. “How far away is the sun?”, “Who was the 12th president of the USA?”, ETC. You’ll be given a detailed answer to the question. Most of the time, the answers will be correct, but there’s always the chance of the information being incorrect. So, if you get an answer, you’ll want to double-check it.

Tips/advice

“How do I build a kite?”, “What’s the best way to swaddle a baby?”, ETC. Gemini Advanced is great at providing tips and advice for what you ask. Depending on what you ask it, Gemini will give you a detailed list of bullet-pointed items walking you through the steps.

The answers are usually displayed in an essay format, so it will give you an introduction paragraph and a closing paragraph with the items in the middle. It can give you advice on a wide range of topics.

Recipes

Are you looking for a new recipe to spice up dinner night? Well, why not turn to Gemini? Simply ask Gemini what you want to make, and it will give you the recipe complete with all of the measurements and instructions. What’s neat is that, if you want to suggest changes to the recipe, you can just say so.

If you get a recipe for tacos, but you want it to be spicier, just type “Make them spicy” in the text box. Then, Gemini will generate a new recipe to make them spicy.

Essays

If you’re a student, and you’re working on an essay for your course, Gemini can help. First and foremost, it’s highly recommended that you write your essay yourself and only use Gemini as a supplement. You can use Gemini to create an essay draft to give you an example to go off of.

It can be a great help for people who need to write long and complex essays. Also, it can give you tips and advice on fleshing out your essay.

Stories

If you want Gemini Advanced to give you a short story, you can ask for one. All you have to do is type what kind of story you want, what kind of characters you want, and what it’s about. For example, you can say “Write me a story about a mean rabbit who gets his just deserts.” Then, it will give you a full short story with the parameters you provided.

After you do that, you can suggest edits, and Gemini will regenerate the story based on your suggestions. You can be as descriptive as you want. It might take you a couple of tries, but you should get a story to fit your needs in no time.

Poems

Gemini’s creative writing capabilities extend into poetry. If you want to have a poem created, just ask for one. Just like with writing stories, you can let it know what the poem is about and make refinements over time.

Images

Gemini Advanced can’t only generate written words for you; it’s also able to create images. All you have to do is type “Make me an image of…” and say what you want the image to be. When you do that, you’ll see up to four examples show up. Click on the one you like the most and click on the Download button at the top right corner of the image.

There’s a Generate more button that will appear below the image(s). Click that to have Gemini generate additional versions of the image.

Summarization

One of the main reasons for people to use AI chatbots is to summarize long pieces of text. If you paste a body of text or a link to a page with text and ask it to summarize the text, you’ll get a short and sweet explanation of what it’s all about. If you want it longer or more brief, you can just say so.

What if I want to switch back to the less-powerful model?

There are people who don’t want the more advanced model. If you don’t want to use Gemini Advanced, the easiest way to do that is to switch the model right within the Gemini platform.

On the website, look at the “Gemini Advanced” text at the top left of the screen. You’ll see a little downward-facing arrow. A little dropdown menu will appear with two options. Click on the Gemini button. This will switch you back to the regular model.

If you’re using the app, tap on your profile picture at the top of the right of the screen and tap on the Settings button. This will bring up the menu page. Close to the bottom, you’ll see a toggle called “Advanced responses.” This will be turned on by default; turn it off. You’ll be on the regular model.

How do I cancel Gemini Advanced?

You can cancel Gemini Advanced by either downgrading your Google One subscription or canceling it.

Downgrading through the web

To downgrade it, go to the Google One website, and scroll to the bottom of the screen. There, you’ll see a little section showing your Google One subscription status. Click on the Manage button.

On the resulting screen, You’ll see a selection of some of the most expensive plans. Under that list of plans, you will see a Show more options button. This one will expand the list to show you the more affordable plans. Click on the Downgrade button next to the plan you want to move to and confirm it.

Downgrading through the app

Open the Google One app and tap on the hamburger-style menu. Tap on the Membership button at the top. This will take you to a page with your plans and others. Scroll down until you see the Show all plans button. That will show you the ones that you can downgrade to. Tap on the one that you want to move to and confirm it.

Canceling on the web

On the website, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the Manage button. Under the list of payment tiers, you’ll see a Cancel subscription button. Click on it. You’ll see another Cancel button on the right side of the screen. Click it and confirm that you want to cancel. Be sure to read the warning that pops up.

Canceling through the app

Open the Google One app and open the hamburger-style menu. There, tap on the Settings button. On the settings screen, scroll down until you see the Cancel membership button. Tap it and read the warning that pops up. If you’re sure that you want to cancel your membership, tap on the Cancel membership button at the bottom of the popup.