Google launches Code Assist, its latest challenger to GitHub’s Copilot

At the Cloud Next conference, Google introduced Gemini Code Assist, an AI tool focused on enterprise code completion and assistance. This tool is a revamped version of the now-defunct Duet AI, with significant updates and a rebrand. Code Assist was showcased at the 30,000-attendee conference in Las Vegas and will be accessible through plug-ins for popular editors like VS Code and JetBrains.

This new offering from Google directly competes with GitHub’s Copilot Enterprise, with unique features like support for Gemini 1.5 Pro, boasting a million-token context window for more accurate code suggestions and large-scale code transformations. Code Assist can also be tailored to a company’s internal code base, enhancing the quality of assistance provided. Furthermore, it stands out by supporting codebases across various platforms, including on-premises and different services, a feature not currently offered by its competitors.

Google has collaborated with developer-centric companies to integrate their knowledge bases into Gemini, expanding its capabilities. The real test for Code Assist lies in developers’ reactions and the usefulness of its suggestions, despite its impressive features. Additionally, Google unveiled CodeGemma, a new open model in the Gemma family tailored for code generation and assistance, now accessible via Vertex AI.

Beyond Code Assist, Google launched Gemini Cloud Assist to aid cloud teams in designing, operating, and optimizing their application lifecycle. This tool generates customized architecture configurations, diagnoses issues, and optimizes cloud usage for cost reduction or performance enhancement. It will be available through a chat interface and integrated into various Google Cloud products for easier access.

Google’s strategic moves, supporting diverse code repositories, offering extensive context windows, and collaborating with industry partners, aim to solidify its position in the competitive AI code assistance market. The true measure of Code Assist’s success will depend on its practicality and efficiency for developers compared to existing solutions like GitHub’s Copilot Enterprise.