Google is officially pushing back its plans to replace Google Assistant on Android phones and tablets with the Generative AI-based Gemini platform.
The company had previously vowed to push the upgrade through on Android devices by the end of 2025. Now Google says it is adjusting the timeline – naturally unless it planned to remedy matters in the last two weeks of December – to complete the transition in 2026. Google said it is going so to ensure a “seamless transition.”
When Google had initially shared news of the forthcoming upgrade, in March, it pointed out that the Google Assistant had served its purpose and the Generative AI-based Gemini was coming to make interactions more personal and aware of the world around you.
Google had promised the update on Android phones taking place throughout 2025, and available out of the box on new Android handsets like the Pixel 10 Pro, was going to make users more productive, more creative and more curious.
“When we launched Google Assistant in 2016, natural language processing and voice recognition technology unlocked a more natural way to get help from Google. Nearly a decade later, we’re in the midst of another platform shift — this time, generative AI is transforming the way we interact with technology,” Google said back in March.
“To continue our work of building the world’s most helpful assistant, we’ve reimagined the experience with AI at its core to make Gemini your personal, AI-powered assistant. While our expectations for what an assistant can do are rapidly changing, the mission remains the same.”
When the update is complete the Google Assistant will no longer be available.
