Google completes the replacement of Google Assistant with Gemini on Android

Google has completed the process of replacing its traditional Google Assistant with Gemini on Android devices. Since September 4, the classic assistant has officially stopped working on mobile devices, definitively making way for the generative artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool.

The company began this transition in March 2025, when it started rolling out Gemini as a replacement for Google Assistant on mobile phones. The plan subsequently included extending the transition to other devices within the Android ecosystem, including tablets and vehicles compatible with Android Auto.

Google initially said that Google Assistant would no longer be available on most smartphones by the end of 2025. However, the company eventually postponed the timetable until 2026 and later informed users of the definitive date for the service's shutdown.

With the service now discontinued, Google Assistant can no longer be used on the devices where it was integrated. This affects not only phones, but also tablets and certain connected devices, such as smartwatches running Wear OS. Gemini now takes over the digital assistant functions on these devices.

How to activate Gemini on Android

The way users interact with the new assistant retains some familiar elements from the previous service. Once Gemini has been set up, users can activate it by saying 'Hey Google' or by holding down the device's power button.

Google is therefore retaining part of the user experience people were accustomed to, although Google Assistant is no longer available as an option and Gemini is now responsible for responding to requests.

The end of a tool launched in 2016

The change marks the end of an era that began in 2016, when Google introduced its virtual assistant with technologies designed to make interaction with its services more natural. Its main capabilities included voice recognition and natural language processing.

For years, Google Assistant became one of the main ways to carry out searches using voice commands, control device functions and access different services without having to interact directly with the screen.

The evolution of generative artificial intelligence has now prompted Google to rethink this system. The company is positioning Gemini as a tool with greater capabilities for understanding and interaction, making it the new centerpiece of its AI-based assistant strategy.

With the disappearance of Google Assistant from Android, Google is bringing to an end a technology that accompanied users for almost a decade and is focusing its efforts on Gemini as the successor to its digital assistant.