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Google has had a grueling 2024 with rapid advancements in AI leading to fierce competition in its core markets, while also wrestling with courtroom defeats and escalating regulatory pressures.
And 2025 is going to be a critical year for the tech giant. “I think it’s really important we internalize the urgency of this moment, and need to move faster as a company. The stakes are high. These are disruptive moments. In 2025, we need to be relentlessly focused on unlocking the benefits of this technology and solve real user problems,” CEO Sundar Pichai told Google employees at an internal strategy meeting held at the company’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, US, on December 18.
Pichai also acknowledged the regulatory scrutiny that Google is facing across the world, according to a report by CNBC. “It comes with our size and success. It’s part of a broader trend where tech is now impacting society at scale. So more than ever, through this moment, we have to make sure we don’t get distracted,” he was quoted as saying.
Amid the AI race that is intensifying with each passing day, Pichai seemed to assure employees that it was okay to play catch-up sometimes. “In history, you don’t always need to be first but you have to execute well and really be the best in class as a product […] I think that’s what 2025 is all about,” he reportedly said.
During the meeting, Pichai spoke about Google’s AI play for 2025 which will have a strong focus on scaling the Gemini app to reach half a billion users. The Gemini app gives users access to the AI chatbot as well as other AI tools.
“With the Gemini app, there is strong momentum, particularly over the last few months […] But we have some work to do in 2025 to close the gap and establish a leadership position there as well,” Pichai said.
Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google Deepmind, reportedly said that teams are going to “turbo charge” the Gemini app, and that there has been progress in the number of users since the app was launched in February.
“The products themselves are going to evolve massively over the next year or two,” Hassabis said, adding that a universal AI assistant will be able to “seamlessly operate over any domain, any modality or any device.”
Josh Woodward, the head of Google Labs, also shared updates on some of the company’s AI tools that are in the works.
Project Astra is the universal AI assistant that was announced by Google in May 2024 and will reportedly be updated in the first half of 2025.
Jules is an AI coding assistant that is currently accessible for users who are part of Google’s trusted testers programme. Woodward reportedly showcased a demo of Jules at the meeting.
NotebookLM, Google’s AI note-taking product, is scheduled to receive a series of updates in 2025. The AI podcasting tool could also get a new feature that lets users “call in” to a podcast, as per the report.
Project Mariner is an under-testing, AI-powered Chrome extension that can, for instance, be used to add the top restaurants from Tripadvisor to Google Maps.
