You might want to turn the AI-powered Assistant with Bard off, and Google will let you

Software updates are the necessary evil that tests our patience and self-restraint – there’s no feeling like the feeling when you open your favorite app and realize that something is very wrong and there’s no going back.

Thankfully, Google is about to introduce one major enhancement that is about to come with the option to be rolled back to its original state.

We’re talking about Google’s AI-turbocharged Assistant that was presented during the Pixel 8 launch: the new Assistant with Bard.

Of course, millions are hanging on the edge and are sick of waiting for the Assistant with Bard to be officially released. These will turn the spanking-new feature off when the cows come home. But there are some that probably would choose to do so, as it’s now reported that the new Assistant with Bard will not feature at start all the capabilities of the original Assistant. That’s why Google is working on a way to switch back to “Classic Assistant” once the new AI-powered experience rolls out (via Android Police).

The missing features from the non-AI Assistant version are not listed as of now, but noted Android expert AssembleDebug is the one who says users will be able to switch between modes:


Assistant with Bard combines Assistant’s personalized help with Bard’s generative reasoning capabilities, making it possible to interact not only with your voice and text but also with images. At the launch event, the company said the new experience is supposed to roll out over the coming months.