What is Google Gemini? It is Google's family of multimodal large language models and the AI assistant built on them, available on the web, in Android and iOS apps, in Gmail, Docs and Chrome. Gemini answers questions, writes and edits text, reads images, files and code, and powers AI Overviews in Google Search.
What is Google Gemini, exactly?
The name covers two different things, and most confusion comes from mixing them up.
- Gemini the model family. Built by Google DeepMind, the models are multimodal: they accept text, images, audio, video and PDFs as input. They ship in tiers — larger Pro models for hard reasoning, fast and cheap Flash models, lighter variants, and Nano, which runs on the phone itself. Version numbers change often, so check the official model list rather than a blog post.
- Gemini the assistant. The chat product at gemini.google.com and in the Gemini mobile app. It was called Bard until February 2024, when Google renamed it after the model. On many Android phones it has replaced Google Assistant.
Developers talk to the model through the Gemini API; everyone else uses the app. If you want the mechanics behind it — tokens, training, next-word prediction — see how neural networks work. In day-to-day use, the phrasing of your request matters more than the model tier; how to write a prompt covers that.
What can Gemini do?
- Answer questions and explain topics, optionally grounded in Google Search results.
- Draft, shorten, rewrite and translate text.
- Read uploaded PDFs, spreadsheets, screenshots and photos.
- Write and explain code and spot bugs in snippets.
- Search your Gmail, Drive and Calendar when you connect those apps.
- Generate images, with the feature set depending on country and plan.
Is Google Gemini free or paid?
Both. The standard Gemini app is free with a Google account in supported countries. Paid Google subscriptions (currently branded Google AI Plus, Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra; Google has renamed these plans more than once) unlock the stronger models, higher usage limits and Gemini inside Gmail, Docs and other Workspace apps. Business accounts get Gemini through Google Workspace plans, and developers pay per use for the API beyond the free tier.
Gemini vs ChatGPT vs YandexGPT
The table sticks to facts you can verify on each vendor's own pages. "Which one is smarter" rankings go stale with every model release, so they are left out.
| Aspect | Gemini | ChatGPT | YandexGPT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | Google (Google DeepMind) | OpenAI | Yandex |
| Consumer assistant | Gemini app and website | ChatGPT app and website | Alice, Yandex Search |
| Built into an OS | Android (default assistant on many devices) | No own OS | No; ships in Alice and Yandex Browser |
| Developer API | Gemini API (Google AI Studio), Vertex AI | OpenAI API | Yandex Cloud |
| Email and documents | Gmail, Docs, Drive | Via connectors | Yandex services |
| Official availability in Russia | No | No | Yes |
Why do I need Gemini if I have Google?
Google Search returns a list of pages; Gemini produces an answer and can act on your own data. The practical difference shows up in tasks like "summarize the last five emails from this client", "turn this PDF into a checklist" or "explain this error message". For simple lookups, Search is still faster, and Search itself already uses Gemini models for AI Overviews. How those summaries pick sources is covered in the Google AI Overviews guide.
Is Google Gemini good or bad?
It is a capable general assistant, especially if you live in Google's ecosystem, but the usual caveats of language models apply: it can state wrong facts confidently, so verify anything that matters — commands, legal points, numbers. On privacy, conversations are stored in your Google account while Gemini Apps Activity is on, and Google notes that even with it off, chats are kept for up to 72 hours to run the service. Don't paste passwords, API keys or customer data into the chat.
How do I get rid of Google Gemini?
Menu names vary by Android version, manufacturer skin and app version. If an item is missing, use the search box in Settings.
Switch back to Google Assistant
Per Google's help page: open the Gemini app, tap Menu, then your profile picture, then Switch to Google Assistant, and tap Switch in the dialog. "Hey Google" and the power-button hold will then open Assistant. On some newer devices the option may no longer be offered as Google phases Assistant out.
Turn off the default assistant and triggers
- Default assistant: Settings → Apps → Default apps → Digital assistant app → None.
- Power button: Settings → System → Gestures → Press & hold power button, and pick the power menu. On Samsung, look under Settings → Advanced features → Side button.
- Voice: turn off "Hey Google" / Voice Match in Gemini settings, and disable Gemini on the lock screen.
Uninstall or disable the app
A separately installed Gemini app is removed like any other app. Google warns that deleting it does not remove Gemini as the default assistant, so change that first. If it is a system app you will only get "Disable". Advanced users can do it with ADB — look up the package name on your device instead of copying one:
adb shell pm list packages | grep -i -E "bard|gemini"
adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 <package.name>
# undo
adb shell pm enable <package.name>Do not disable the Google app itself (com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox); Search and widgets depend on it.
Stop Gemini from keeping your history
In the app: Menu → profile picture → Gemini Apps Activity → Turn off (or Turn off and delete activity). On the web: gemini.google.com → Settings & help → Activity.
How to get a Gemini API key
Create a key in Google AI Studio (aistudio.google.com) — it is tied to a Google Cloud project. The step-by-step process, plus how to store and rotate keys safely, is in the AI API key guide. A quick way to test a key and see the exact model IDs available to you:
curl "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/models" \
-H "x-goog-api-key: $GEMINI_API_KEY"Send the key in the header, not the URL, so it doesn't end up in proxy logs. The API is only served in supported regions.
Gemini and your website: training vs AI Overviews
Site owners have two separate controls, and mixing them up is the most common mistake.
| Goal | Control | Effect on Search |
|---|---|---|
| Keep content out of Gemini training and grounding | User-agent: Google-Extended + Disallow: / | None — pages stay indexed and ranked |
| Limit what AI Overviews can quote | nosnippet, data-nosnippet, max-snippet | Regular snippets shrink too |
| Remove a page from AI Overviews entirely | noindex or blocking Googlebot | The page leaves Search as well |
According to Google's crawler documentation, Google-Extended "does not impact a site's inclusion in Google Search nor is it used as a ranking signal". It also has no HTTP user-agent string of its own — crawling uses the existing Google agents — so you will never find "Google-Extended" in your access logs. AI features follow the normal Search eligibility rules, with no special markup required.
User-agent: Google-Extended
Disallow: /
User-agent: *
Allow: /To confirm that "Googlebot" hits in your logs are real, run a reverse DNS lookup (host 66.249.66.1 on Linux/macOS, nslookup 66.249.66.1 on Windows): genuine hosts end in googlebot.com or google.com. Rules for other vendors' bots are in robots.txt and AI crawlers.
How to check your site
- AI readiness check — see how AI crawlers read your site and what blocks them.
- AI Visibility — find out whether AI assistants mention your business when customers ask.
- HTTP header check — confirm the page returns 200 and carries no stray
X-Robots-Tag: noindex.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemini the same as Bard?
Yes. Bard was renamed Gemini in February 2024; the product and the model now share one name.
Is Gemini the same as AI Overviews?
No. AI Overviews is a Search feature that uses Gemini models; the Gemini app is a separate chat assistant.
Does blocking Google-Extended hurt my rankings?
No. It only controls use of your content for Gemini training and grounding. Indexing and ranking are handled by Googlebot.
Can I use Gemini in Russia?
Not officially. Russia is not on Google's list of supported countries for the Gemini app or the Gemini API.
Does Gemini run on the phone or in the cloud?
Mostly in the cloud. Gemini Nano handles some tasks on-device on supported phones; the app's main answers come from Google's servers.
