Just before the holidays, CEO Sundar Pichai and Google’s leadership team held a strategy meeting to outline priorities for 2025, with Gemini emerging as the centerpiece of their plans.
A report from CNBC said that during a company-wide meeting this month Pichai emphasized: “Scaling Gemini on the consumer side will be our biggest focus next year.” He also noted that Google plans to roll out several new AI features in the first half of the year.
Notably, Google sees its Gemini app (gemini.google.com) becoming the next first-party product to reach half a billion monthly users, joining an elite group of 15 services.
In October, Pichai highlighted Google Maps achieving 2 billion monthly users, alongside Search, Gmail, Android, Chrome, Play, and YouTube — all of which now feature Gemini integrations.
The integration of Gemini 2.0 into Google's suite of products means more intuitive and efficient interactions for users.
For instance, AI Overviews in Google Search are set to become more nuanced, providing concise and relevant information swiftly. Additionally, tools like Project Mariner, an experimental Chrome extension, aim to autonomously browse the web on your behalf, streamlining online tasks.
“You don’t always need to be first in history, but you do need to execute well and deliver a best-in-class product,” Pichai stated. “That’s what 2025 is all about.” He added that Google’s goal for the year is to “close the gap and establish a leadership position” in AI-powered services.
Meanwhile, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis shared plans to “turbocharge” the Gemini app, predicting significant evolution in the products over the next year or two.
The ultimate goal, according to Hassabis, is a universal assistant — codenamed Project Astra — capable of seamlessly operating across any domain, modality, or device.
Speaking of Astra, CNBC reports it will receive updates in the first half of the year. This may include enhanced camera and vision capabilities within Gemini Live, which is currently being tested as a standalone app but will eventually integrate into the main Gemini platform.
At the recent Gemini 2.0 launch, Hassabis provided an update on Astra and clarified that there are no plans for a $200-per-month subscription tier, distancing Google from OpenAI’s pricing model.
Gemini 2.0 is Google's latest AI model, designed to enhance user experiences across a wide range of applications.
It introduces advanced capabilities, including native audio and image generation, and multimodal functionalities that allow it to process and generate content across different formats seamlessly. |
