Goodbye, Assistant: Google prepares to make Gemini your only option

Gemini Deep Research could soon get the ability to choose and control sources, but that’s not the only improvement that Google is working on. We’ve spotted several other changes coming soon to Gemini, including a new processing animation, expand and collapse buttons, and preparation for the eventual demise of Google Assistant.

New Gemini animation

In Google app v16.44.59, we’ve managed to enable a new processing animation for when Google is working on your queries. Here’s an early look:

Expand and collapse buttons for Gemini

When you send a long query to Gemini, the entire query is displayed in the chat conversation UI, which can occupy a large portion of the available display area. There’s little utility in displaying this whole message, since the user already knows what they sent. To improve the situation, Google is working on buttons to expand and collapse the long query, similar to the button that already exists in Gemini on the web.

Google is also working on a “Jump to bottom” button, which is very helpful when you want to reach the bottom of any long conversation.

Google Assistant is completely going away

Gemini currently offers a setting that allows users to switch back to Google Assistant if they really want to. We know that Assistant is dead and going away, and soon, users will not be able to switch away from Gemini and back to Assistant. Google is working to remove the choice screen from Gemini and even Google Assistant settings, effectively locking users to Gemini.

As you can see, the “Digital assistants from Google” settings stub will soon be removed. Google hasn’t flipped the switch yet, but it’s inevitable, so Assistant fans had best make their peace with Gemini.