Here’s your first look at Google’s new AI Assistant with Bard, but you’ll have to wait longer for a release date

2024 is set to see AI playing an increasingly prominent role in all kinds of tech devices and services, and Google is getting the ball rolling by enhancing Google Assistant with Google Bard features, having launched its AI chatbot last year. 

During its Made by Google event in October, Google announced that the new Assistant by Bard would blend elements of both tools to create a generative AI search powerhouse. Its Google Assistant search tool has been integrated across the company’s products since its launch in 2016.  

Google’s developments in AI are transforming the way users experience and interact with its repertoire of apps and services, with AI tools available in Gmail, YouTube, and Google Docs, among others. The merging of Google Bard and Google Assistant features marks the next big step in the company’s plan to integrate AI across all its products and services. 

While Assistant with Bard doesn’t have a confirmed release date just yet, images and video shared by 9to5Google give us an idea of how it will look and function. 

9to5Google suggests that Assistant with Bard will replace Google Assistant altogether across Google and Android devices. If this is true, it’s likely that you’ll access the new AI the same way as you would access Google Assistant; either by commanding “Hey Google”, or long-pressing the power button. 

Looking at the images, the Discover page in the Google search app appears to have received a Bard integration in the form of a slider toggle that enables you to easily switch between a standard Google search and the AI chatbot

Other images show the pop-up that appears when Assistant by Bard is enabled, allowing you to ask questions by talking, typing, or sharing photos using the three options at the bottom of the screen. Google previewed this design during its October event, at which it launched the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.  

Assistant with Bard isn’t yet available to use, but going by the images shared by 9to5Google it appears that the rollout of Google’s next AI development is imminent.  

You might also like

• Google Assistant is finally getting Bard’s AI smarts – and it could help run your life
• Report: Google delays its biggest AI launch of the year, but it’s still coming soon
• Google working on an AI assistant that could answer ‘impossible’ questions about you