Google wants Gemini to feel simple. Then it gave every feature its own name, icon and menu spot.
That's the core critique in a new TechCrunch analysis of Google's latest Gemini update. The piece argues this AI branding problem runs well beyond Google alone.
The Core Problem: Too Many Branded Modes
Gemini's app splits into separate features: regular chat, an agent called Spark, and a proactive assistant called Daily Brief. Each has its own icon and navigation slot.
Google's own promotional language promises users won't have to guess which feature handles a given task. The branding itself creates exactly that guessing problem.
Daily Brief drew particular criticism.
It pulls from Gmail and Calendar to offer "proactive" updates. It reportedly can't distinguish urgent information from unsolicited nudges, including resurfacing old search history unprompted.
Spark fares better as a feature.
It's a genuinely useful AI agent that takes action on a user's behalf. TechCrunch argues it never needed to be a separately branded product at all.
It's Not Just Google
The piece names Anthropic's Claude specifically.
Users have to choose between "chat" and "Cowork" modes. Until recently, those two modes didn't even share memory of past conversations.
ChatGPT faces the same critique, requiring users to switch between "Chat" and "Work" modes. TechCrunch frames this as engineering-minded design that makes AI feel unnatural to use.
The underlying argument is straightforward. Consumers shouldn't need to learn brand names for what are really just interaction modes powered by the same underlying model.
The Apple and Text-Message Alternative
Apple's approach to Siri gets held up as a contrast. Apple doesn't require users to learn anything new, it just makes existing apps like Spotlight, Photos and the Camera smarter.
Simple text-based AI assistants follow the same logic. TechCrunch names several, including Instinct, MAIN's own coverage of which included real privacy concerns worth weighing against the interface simplicity.
Justine Moore, an investment partner at a16z, summed up the appeal.
"People don't want to open an app every time they need help," she said. "They want a contact they can text like a friend."
What This Means for Miami
This is a useful lens for Miami businesses building or evaluating their own AI tools.
It's not just a critique of consumer chatbot apps. Interface complexity that makes sense to engineers often confuses the actual people meant to use a product daily.
For any Miami company rolling out an internal AI assistant, this critique applies directly. Simpler is usually better, even when the underlying technology is genuinely more capable.
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