Google to retire Assistant and launch Gemini AI platform

Google announced that its long‑standing voice assistant will be discontinued beginning 4 September 2026. The shutdown will affect Android smartphones, tablets, Wear OS smartwatches, compatible headphones and Android Auto, with the transition to the company’s next‑generation generative AI model, Gemini. Google said the removal will roll out over several weeks and that users will no longer be able to revert to the old assistant. Certain devices – such as cars with Google‑built‑in infotainment systems – will retain the classic Assistant for the time being.

At the same time, Google introduced Gemini Spark, an AI “agent” that can operate autonomously, handling tasks such as email summarisation, document editing, web‑automation in Chrome, and coordinated workflows across Gmail, Docs, Calendar and Sheets. Gemini Spark is available to Google AI Pro subscribers in more than 160 countries, but the service is excluded from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Nigeria, including Spain. The agent runs on Gemini 3.5 in Google Cloud and can continue working even when the user’s device is locked.

The changes mark a shift from a reactive voice assistant to a proactive AI platform across Google’s hardware and software ecosystem.