For Google, It’s Gemini Everything Everywhere All At Once

How Google is infusing everything with its Gemini AI to make it accessible to developers.
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"The AI Economy," a newsletter exploring AI's impact on business, work, society and tech.
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It was supposed to be Google’s week to showcase its latest AI innovations.

Then, OpenAI said, “Hold my beer,” and released a significant update to GPT-4 that can handle text, speech and video. And the new model is free to use!

While it took some of the wind out of Google’s sail on the eve of the company’s developer conference, Google remained steadfast in its pitch about its Gemini AI: It’s going to be accessible to all and work with any device, form factor, or use case.

In this week’s issue of “The AI Economy,” check out Google’s vision of a Gemini-powered future and understand its impact on our search for knowledge.

Google’s Gemini Era

“If you’ve never experienced Google I/O, it’s like the Eras Tour, only with fewer costume changes,” Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai quipped at the beginning of his keynote address. It was the second time a major tech conference made reference to the incredibly popular Taylor Swift tour. But the mention underscored Google’s effort to turn the page on a new chapter in its history, embracing one in which it’s all-in on AI.

Google has slowly been introducing AI tools over the years, launching products like Google Assistant and Google Home, and who could forget that demo of Google Duplex? However, this year seemed different because it didn’t seem like AI was an added thing. Instead, the technology was part of everything at Google I/O, so much so that the phrase “AI” was mentioned 121 times during the opening keynote.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the company's I/O developer conference in 2024. Image credit: YouTube screenshot
Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the company’s I/O developer conference in 2024. Image credit: YouTube screenshot

But simply showing that Gemini is baked into its apps is not enough. Google has to show it’s thinking about the next phase of AI, and that’s what it did at this year’s I/O. During the opening keynote, the company unveiled Project Astra, an AI agent capable of understanding the dynamics of the world. An early version was demoed in a video, showcasing capabilities that seemed as if unlimited resources were poured into making Google Assistant and Lens really good. The timing could have been better, though: When OpenAI announced GPT-4o, it also demoed something similar.

Oops.

Regardless, pundits, developers and investors have a better understanding of how Google compares to OpenAI. Unlike a year ago, both tech firms now appear to be on the same footing. However, Google still needs to do more to win over developers, and some may take a wait-and-see approach because they’re concerned that the features the company promised may not actually materialize.

While valid, it’s not the message to take away from I/O. Instead, Google is saying the kids’ gloves are off now, and it’s ready to take on OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta. It’s no longer running scared—it’s ready to bring the AI fight.

Next up: Microsoft. The Windows maker will hold its Build developer conference next week in Seattle, Washington.

Today’s Visual Snapshot

Speaking of GPT-4o, take a look at four charts produced by OpenAI illustrating how the new AI model compares against other similar LLMs across various benchmark metrics.

OpenAI's GPT-4o scores high in improved reasoning with general knowledge questions. Image credit: OpenAI
OpenAI’s GPT-4o scores high in improved reasoning with general knowledge questions. Image credit: OpenAI
OpenAI's GPT-4o does better speech recognition vs. the company's Whisper-v3 across all languages. Image credit: OpenAI
OpenAI’s GPT-4o does better speech recognition vs. the company’s Whisper-v3 across all languages. Image credit: OpenAI
In audio translation, OpenAI's GPT-4o apparently bests the company's own Whisper model. Image credit: OpenAI
In audio translation, OpenAI’s GPT-4o apparently bests the company’s own Whisper model. Image credit: OpenAI
How OpenAI's GPT-4o compares to leading models in vision understanding. Image credit: OpenAI
How OpenAI’s GPT-4o compares to leading models in vision understanding. Image credit: OpenAI

Quote This

“With GPT-4o, OpenAI again cements its lead…over the AI space, but it also is a clear sign of an important shift…All of these features we are starting to see appear—lower prices, higher speeds, multimodal capability, voice, large context windows, agentic behavior—are about making AI more present and more naturally connected to human systems and processes.”

— Ethan Mollick, in response to OpenAI releasing GPT-4o this week (One Useful Thing)

This Week’s AI News

🏭 Industry Insights

🤖 Machine Learning

✏️ Generative AI

🛒 Commerce

⚙️ Hardware and Robotics

🔬 Science and Breakthroughs

💼 Business and Marketing

📺 Media and Entertainment

💰 Funding

⚖️ Copyright and Regulatory Issues

💥 Disruption and Misinformation

🔎 Opinions and Research

End Output

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