The Google Assistant era is over. In a blog post Friday, Google announced plans for Google Assistant’s final phase-out, starting on mobile and continuing with tablets, cars, and mobile-connected devices such as headphones and tablets.

This comes as no surprise to most, because when Google launched Bard (the name Google used for Gemini early on), Google said it would bring Bard features to the Google Assistant.

Google went from being a dark horse in the AI space to a frontrunner with its Gemini offerings. To keep up that momentum, Google is announcing a slew of Gemini updates that will enhance the AI assistant's overall experience -- including for free users.