It’s no secret that Google Assistant’s days are numbered, as the Mountain View tech giant confirmed earlier this year. But there was no clarity over when Google Assistant would stop working.
While Google confirmed in one of its support documents that Assistant will no longer be accessible on “most mobile phones” later this year, the company kept us in the dark about a specific date or a month that will witness Assistant’s demise, until a few hours ago.
Google has finally shed some light on when users won’t be able to use Assistant anymore. According to the official announcement, Google Assistant will be available for use even next year, but only for a limited time.
Here is when Google Assistant will stop working on your device
Google has quietly notified via its Android Auto support page that Google Assistant ‘will be available for use until March 2026.’ So, if the company sticks to this plan, Gemini will automatically replace Google Assistant after that March deadline.
Currently, users can go back to Google Assistant after switching to Gemini, but after the deadline is over, you won’t get the option to use Google Assistant again. While users have their doubts about whether Gemini is a worthy replacement for Google Assistant, Google has said that the former will support all Assistant commands and will speak naturally.
However, not all Android phones support Gemini, and there is still no clarity from Google on whether those unsupported devices will still be able to access Google Assistant. One possibility is that those phones might retain access but won’t have the option to download it from the Google Play Store. Also, Google Assistant won’t be as powerful as it was a year ago, because it’s already lost many features and will likely lose more.
Gemini will replace Google Assistant on other devices, too
The transition from Gemini to Google Assistant isn’t happening only on phones. It’ll also replace Assistant on device types, such as tablets, smart speakers and displays, cars, TVs, Wear OS watches, and the like. The company also confirmed that it’d bring “a new experience, powered by Gemini” to smart home devices. Time will tell whether the “new experience” turns out to be any good for smart home users.
