Google has released a dedicated Gemini app for Windows, giving its AI chatbot a permanent spot on the desktop instead of living only in a browser tab or phone screen. The app installs directly on Windows machines and can be summoned with a keyboard shortcut, mirroring how OpenAI's ChatGPT desktop app and Microsoft's Copilot work.

Once open, it functions largely like the web version: questions, text and image generation, document analysis, and help drafting emails or spreadsheets. The headline difference is accessibility — one keystroke instead of a browser tab — extending Gemini from Android, iOS, and Workspace into the desktop layer itself.

Free access covers core features; Gemini Advanced, bundled with a Google One AI Premium subscription, unlocks more capable models and higher usage limits. The launch continues the consolidation trend: OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Anthropic are all racing to be the default AI assistant already sitting on your machine.