Google Assistant shuts down on devices as Gemini takes over

Google has begun notifying users that, beginning September 4, Google Assistant will no longer be available on phones, tablets, or paired devices such as Wear OS smartwatches, compatible earbuds, and Android Auto dashboards.

After September 4, only cars with Google built-in will still have access to Google Assistant. For everyone else, Google is promoting Gemini as the new assistant in areas where it is available.

If your Android device satisfies the system requirements and you are in a region where Gemini is offered, Gemini will become your Google Assistant. When you say “Hey Google” or hold down the power button, Gemini will show up instead of Google Assistant.

Google first introduced Assistant at the Google I/O developer conference in May 2016. It launched in the now-discontinued Google Allo messaging app and in Google Home devices.

The Assistant became available on the first Pixel phones in October 2016, before expanding to other Android devices, third-party smart speakers, smart displays, TVs, and iOS devices in 2017.

When ChatGPT launched, it was a big challenge for Google. The new technology could generate code, write essays, and answer questions in a conversational tone. These features went past traditional search and raised concerns about how it might affect Google’s main business.

In response, Google launched Bard a few months later. Bard was later renamed Gemini.

Gemini has kept evolving, with updates such as Gemini 3.5 and Gemini Spark, which serves as a continuous assistant that manages digital tasks in the background. Google has also introduced Gemini Omni, a multimodal model designed to combine text, audio, images, and video to produce high-quality media outputs.