Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged at the company’s year-end strategy meeting that the AI models powering Google Gemini are behind OpenAI and ChatGPT but promised a real push in 2025 to get Gemini to outpace its rivals, as reported by CNBC.
Pichai’s directive comes off as more serious than the usual corporate rah-rah; it’s a declaration that Google won’t lose any more ground in a race it once led. Google’s nearly bottomless coffers and enormous infrastructure give it a good chance of coming out on top in 12 months, but only because the company is no longer resting on the laurels it’s been polishing since the early 2000s.
“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,” Pichai said at the meeting. “I think that’s what 2025 is all about.”
Pichai’s rallying cry arguably highlights just how much pressure the company is under. Gemini, touted as Google’s great AI hope, has yet to live up to its hype. While ChatGPT has become synonymous with generative AI, Google’s Gemini still feels like the scrappy understudy. Sure, Pichai claims Gemini 1.5 outpaces GPT in technical capabilities, but let’s be real—perception matters.
If the average user associates “AI” with ChatGPT rather than Google, the company’s dominance is in jeopardy. Pichai’s point that “you don’t always have to be first” is true, but Google’s slow start is leaving it vulnerable to losing its reputation as a trailblazer.
Meta, meanwhile, is dropping mountains of cash on AI, with the Meta AI assistant arriving across its platforms and on new hardware like AI-enhanced Ray-Ban smart glasses and the Orion headset. Meta’s AI investments are impressive, but its sprawling empire might actually limit how cohesive its strategy can be relative to Google’s plans with Gemini.
If Google was slow off the mark, Apple would have still been asleep in bed when the starting gun went off. Still, Tim Cook and company have made some big moves to embed AI in its products. Apple has developed AI internally and partnered with AI developers, including OpenAI, while maintaining the distinct Apple user experience for Siri and other services. Apple’s strategy might seem overly cautious, but it’s not ignoring AI. If Apple can incorporate generative AI into its tightly integrated ecosystem, it could redefine what AI means for consumers.
What’s at stake here is more than bragging rights. The winner of the AI race may define the standards, tools, and platforms for the next decade. Google’s strategy of scaling Gemini into a universal assistant could be the key to Google’s success in the new year.
“I think 2025 will be critical,” Pichai said. “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.”
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erichs211@gmail.com (Eric Hal Schwartz)
