When we hear about programming assistants, we usually immediately think of GitHub Copilot. This may be because it is the most widely used artificial intelligence (AI) tool these days when it comes to “chopping code”. However, it is not the only one that exists.
In the development world we find alternatives such as Amazon’s CodeWhisperer, Meta’s Code Llama and Google’s Duet AI for Developers. What is certain is that the fact that the search engine giant is trying to get its act together in the AI race invites us to take its proposal into account.
Gemini everywhere
Google seemed to be lagging far behind OpenAI in AI, something that was particularly curious because the company had been working in this discipline for years. But the Mountain View firm woke up and brought heavy artillery to the table to compete with the best it had.
This is where Gemini came into the picture, an AI model devised to surpass the prodigious GPT-4 in some aspects. Well, Gemini which is expected to land on Bard and Android-powered Pixel 8 Pro, will also arrive “in the coming weeks “to Google’s Duet AI for Developers, its AI assistant competitor to GitHub’s Copilot.
We are facing a tool that, like the one developed by the Microsoft-owned company, provides a set of interesting solutions for developers. Let’s see. Code assistance, as its name suggests, completes code as it is being worked on.
But this is not the only interesting thing. As if it were Bard or ChatGPT, it is also possible to chat in natural language with Duet AI for Developers. For example, you can ask it to create an “HTML template with a form to fill in weather data through an API”.
The system can also deploy intelligent contextual actions. Through these it is possible to automate certain tasks within the developer’s workflow. In other words, the wizard analyzes the written code and its dynamics to offer possibly useful solutions.
At this point you may be wondering how to access Duet AI for Developers. The tool, which was limited to closed tests, is now available to the general public through its website. It will be available free of charge until February 1, 2024.
Yes, it is not a free tool. The truth is that GitHub Copilot isn’t either. To use Duet AI for Developers after the free period you will have to pay $9 per month for each user (in an annual payment in advance), although Google Cloud users will have credits available to use it for a while without paying.
GitHub Copilot, as we said, is also paid. In this case, plans start at $10 per month for students and teachers. There is also a Business plan for $19 per month and an Enterprise plan for $39 per month. Will Google manage to take some of Microsoft’s market share in this area? We will find out in time.