Historically, Android Studio integrated IntelliJ core updates alongside custom Android tools simultaneously. In version 2024.1.1, Google shifted to a highly structured dual-phase system.

These are confirmed by Google issue tracker & community testing:

This is a significant time-saver for developers looking to experiment with AI-powered features without having to set up the API from scratch. To get started, you can use this template directly from the Android Studio new project wizard.

With Koala, Google brought AI capabilities directly into the project creation flow. You can now build apps that implement using the Google AI SDK. The new Gemini API Template in Android Studio allows you to quickly create a project and integrate AI-powered features (such as text generation and image recognition) directly into your app, providing a starting point for creating smarter, AI-driven user experiences.

Koala marks the stable integration of Gemini, Google’s AI-powered assistant, directly into the IDE.

Significant improvements to overall stability, reducing crashes and UI freezes.