If you’re subscribed to Gemini Advanced, you may not have noticed, but Google has just quietly upgraded you to version 1.5 Pro-002 of its LLM, which is good news, as it’s much faster and more powerful than the previous version.
This new version 1.5 of Gemini Pro is optimized for chat and now provides better and more accurate answers to prompts related to math and exploring complex topics that invite thoughtful conversation. Basically, this means you can now give multi-step instructions without Gemini getting confused about what you mean. Google also claims that the new AI is more useful and better at providing relevant information and informative responses. It’s also faster, so you don’t have to wait as long for a response.
ChatGPT recently released an o1 preview LLM model for ChatGPT Plus subscribers, which had much better math skills, and it will be interesting to compare how it performs with the new Gemini Pro 1.5.
Welcome to the Gemini family
Gemini is the universal name for Google’s LLM family and is available in four versions: a Pro version for Gemini Advanced subscribers, which costs $20 per month (£18.99 / AU$32.99), and the best performing model. Flash, the smallest, most cost-effective multimodal mode (and what users on the free tier get by default). Nano, the version you can find on smartphones, for on-device processing. Finally, there is Ultra, the largest model and designed for very complex tasks.
You used to need a subscription to Gemini Advanced to use Gemini Live – the AI assistant on Google Pixel phones that let you talk with your voice, but Google recently dropped the requirement and made it free for all Android users. However, Gemini Live does not use the more powerful Gemini Pro 1.5 LLM, as it remains reserved for Gemini Advanced subscribers.
The AI wars are just beginning
Google isn’t the only AI company upping its game and improving its AI smarts. ChatGPT recently started rolling out Advanced Voice Mode to its paid ChatGPT Plus subscribers, and Microsoft just launched a new, revamped version of Copilot, its own AI with a voice mode that you can use completely free. The web-based version of Copilot is still rolling out, but to try Copilot now, just download the Copilot app on your smartphone.
While Google’s Gemini Live is free for all Android owners who can use it on their smartphones, Microsoft has responded by making Copilot’s voice mode free for anyone who can use the Copilot app, even on iOS devices. That means iOS users will get their first taste of voice-controlled AI before Siri gets its own AI smarts, which should arrive soon.
Of course, the real value of an AI assistant is its ability to integrate with all your other apps, like your calendar and inbox, so it can do more useful things for you. These features are still coming to Gemini and aren’t here yet, but general voice chat with AI, both Google Gemini Live and Microsoft Copilot, are currently leading the way.