(Credit: Google)
Google on Tuesday tipped a number of updates coming to its Gemini AI, including a lightweight version known as Flash.
First, the company is bringing its Gemini 1.5 Pro model to Gemini Advanced, Google’s version of ChatGPT Plus, with an expanded context window of 1 million tokens.
“A context window this long means Gemini Advanced can make sense of multiple large documents, up to 1,500 pages total, or summarize 100 emails,” Google says. “Soon, it will be able to handle an hour of video content or codebases with more than 30,000 lines.”
Gemini Advanced now supports file uploads from Google Drive. Google says this will allow its AI to “act as a data analyst, uncovering insights and building custom visualizations and charts on the fly from uploaded data files like spreadsheets.”
For those who need the fastest response possible, Gemini 1.5 Flash is a smaller model “optimized for narrower or high-frequency tasks.”
Google notes that "Gemini keeps your files private to you, and they’re not used to train our models," a nod to reports that Google and other companies are desperate for more data on which to train its AI and are using things like YouTube videos and public Google Docs to get it.
Both versions are available in preview today in 200+ countries before a formal launch in June. A version of 1.5 Pro with a 2 million context window is also available for Google Cloud customers, but you’ll need to join a waitlist.
As for what you can do with 1.5 Pro in Advanced, Google teased Gemini Live, which supports more natural back-and-forth conversations with the AI on mobile, including the ability to interuppt and redirect Gemini in the middle of an answer. It also talked up the AI's trip-planning capabilities; expanded support for extensions with Google Calendar, Tasks, and Keep; and the option to create customized versions of the AI called Gems.
"Simply describe what you want your Gem to do and how you want it to respond — like 'you're my running coach, give me a daily running plan and be positive, upbeat and motivating.' Gemini will take those instructions and, with one click, enhance them to create a Gem that meets your specific needs," Google says.
These features will launch in the coming months. Later this year, you can also use your smartphone camera to ask Gemini what it sees around you.