February 2024: Google renames Bard as Gemini
Covers February 2024. Part of our search timeline: a month-by-month look at the changes that shaped SEO, AI search, paid ads and social media, written in November 2026 for local businesses with the benefit of hindsight.
Quick answer: In February 2024 Google changed the name of its Bard chatbot to Gemini, and brought in a paid tier called Gemini Advanced along with a mobile app. With OpenAI, Microsoft and Google all pushing their assistants hard, asking an AI became an everyday way for people to research products, services and who to hire.
At the time, a rename might have looked like a simple branding exercise. With hindsight, it marked the point where AI assistants stopped being a curiosity and became one more place where a customer might ask, “who’s a good electrician near me?”
What changed in February 2024?
Google brought its AI assistant together under the single Gemini name. It launched a Gemini app on Android, added Gemini to the Google app on iPhone, and made Gemini Advanced available as part of a Google One subscription.
Why did this matter for local businesses in the UK?
Customers suddenly had a handful of AI assistants they could ask for recommendations. For a landscaper or a cleaning company, it made sense to start checking how each assistant described the business, and to include that in regular marketing checks alongside Google rankings and reviews.
Practical steps to take today
- Put questions about your business to the leading AI assistants and note down any mistakes.
- Tidy up any information that differs between your website, Google Business Profile and directory listings.
- Win mentions on trusted review platforms and trade sites that AI tools tend to rely on.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to pay for Gemini?
No, a free version is available. Paid tiers give access to more capable models and extra features.
Do AI assistants pull from Google Search?
Gemini is able to use Google Search. Other assistants rely on their own indexes or on partners such as Bing.
Sources and further reading
Want help with this? Want to know what AI assistants say about your business? Take a look at our AI search and GEO service. Get in touch.
More articles
December 2023: Gemini arrives from Google
Google unveiled its Gemini AI models in December 2023. Why that matters for local search, and how Gemini now sits behind AI Overviews and AI Mode.
May 2024: Google switches on AI Overviews across the US
At I/O in May 2024 Google gave every US user AI Overviews. How results changed and what UK trades took from it ahead of the August UK rollout.
September 2023: Google’s helpful content update and the arrival of Google-Extended
A big helpful content update and a new robots.txt control for AI training both arrived in September 2023. What they meant for local websites.