News/Google
Google’s latest AI feature ‘Ask for Me’ will call local businesses for you
Google has launched a new AI-powered feature called "Ask for Me" that can make phone calls to local businesses on behalf of users to schedule appointments and gather information. What's new: Google's Ask for Me tool leverages artificial intelligence to make automated calls to businesses, currently focused on nail salons and auto shops, to handle basic inquiries and scheduling. Users can access the feature through Google Search Labs when looking up local service providers The system asks users specific questions about their needs, such as service type, vehicle details, and preferred appointment times Customers must provide contact information to receive...
read Feb 1, 2025Google buys 50 different Super Bowl ads to make sure you know how cool its AI tools are
Google's Workspace division is launching its first-ever Super Bowl campaign featuring 50 distinct local TV commercials showcasing small businesses across the United States. Campaign Overview: The "50 States, 50 Stories" initiative represents Google's strategic push to demonstrate the practical applications of its AI tools in small business settings. Each state will receive a unique commercial featuring a local business that actively uses Google Workspace's AI capabilities The campaign highlights diverse businesses, from a Nebraska cattle ranch to a Wisconsin cheese shop All 50 advertisements will air simultaneously during Super Bowl 59 on February 9 Production Details: The ambitious project combined...
read Jan 31, 2025New Google AI feature aims to handle your phone calls
Google has launched an experimental AI feature called "Ask For Me" that makes phone calls to local businesses on behalf of users to gather information about prices and availability. What's new: Google's AI-powered calling feature is currently being tested with auto shops and nail salons as part of the company's Search Labs program. The technology builds on Google's existing Duplex system, which already handles restaurant reservations The AI assistant explicitly identifies itself as automated when making calls Businesses retain the option to opt-out of receiving AI-generated calls Key functionality and limitations: The service aims to reduce the number of direct...
read Jan 31, 2025Google speeds up Gemini AI app with Flash 2.0 upgrade
The Gemini mobile and web app is being updated with Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model, promising faster responses and improved performance. Key Update Details: Google has announced the rollout of its upgraded Gemini 2.0 Flash AI model across web and mobile applications, focusing on enhanced capabilities for everyday tasks. The new model aims to deliver faster responses and improved performance across key benchmarks Primary improvements target common tasks like brainstorming, learning, and writing The update will be available to all Gemini users Transition Period: Google is implementing a measured approach to the upgrade while maintaining access to previous versions....
read Jan 30, 2025Google launches Gemini 2.0 Flash with faster performance and enhanced media capabilities
Google's AI model Gemini 2.0 Flash moves out of its experimental phase and becomes fully operational, offering faster performance and enhanced media handling capabilities. Key developments: Gemini 2.0 Flash, first introduced as an experimental version last month, has now graduated to full release status and is available through both the Gemini app and website. The model offers significant improvements over its predecessor, particularly in processing speed and media input handling Users can now leverage the system for enhanced brainstorming, learning, and writing tasks The platform integrates Imagen 3, Google's advanced image synthesis technology Technical capabilities: The latest version represents a...
read Jan 29, 2025Google thwarts hacker group using Gemini to breach accounts
State-sponsored hackers from Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia have attempted to use Google's Gemini AI for malicious purposes, but their efforts have not produced any significant cybersecurity threats. Key findings: Google's investigation revealed that multiple state-sponsored hacking groups have been experimenting with Gemini AI for various tasks, though their attempts at sophisticated cyber attacks have been unsuccessful. More than 10 Iranian, 20 Chinese, and nine North Korean hacking groups were identified using Gemini Iranian APT actors were found to be the most frequent users of the AI system The hackers primarily used Gemini for basic tasks like translation, content...
read Jan 29, 2025Google and Aerospace Corp are partnering to advance space weather prediction
Space weather forecasting is being enhanced through a new partnership between The Aerospace Corporation and Google Public Sector, combining space science expertise with advanced AI and computing capabilities. The partnership foundation; The Aerospace Corporation, which operates the only federally funded space-focused research center, is teaming up with Google Public Sector to advance space weather prediction capabilities. The collaboration aims to predict geomagnetic storms days in advance using AI and high-performance computing The partnership brings together Aerospace's space science expertise with Google Cloud's technologies, including Vertex AI The initiative leverages tools to process massive amounts of solar data, including approximately 70,000...
read Jan 28, 2025Google’s Deep Research AI agent now available in the Gemini Android App
Google's Deep Research is an agentic feature that conducts comprehensive web research on behalf of users, and now it's available through the Gemini Android app. Key Features and Functionality: Deep Research operates by creating and executing multi-step research plans based on user queries. Users can pose questions about any topic, and the AI develops a research strategy that can be approved or rejected The feature mimics human research behavior by browsing the web, making iterative searches, and compiling findings Results are presented as organized reports with source links for further exploration Users can refine reports through follow-up questions and export...
read Jan 25, 20257 reasons why you should be a Gemini Advanced subscriber
Gemini Advanced, part of the Google One AI Premium Plan, is a paid subscription offering enhanced AI capabilities for productivity, creativity, and data management. Priced at $19.99 per month, it builds upon the free version of Google Gemini with advanced features like superior AI models, expanded context windows, and seamless integration with Google Workspace tools. For professionals and heavy users of AI, Gemini Advanced promises to significantly accelerate workflows and unlock new possibilities for managing tasks efficiently. Here are seven reasons why you should consider getting your own account. Access to Google's most capable AI models: Gemini Advanced features enhanced...
read Jan 24, 2025The realism from this Veo 2-made AI video by László Gaál will blow your mind
Google DeepMind's Veo 2 AI system has enabled digital artist László Gaál to create a groundbreaking commercial featuring entirely AI-generated footage, including both the main content and behind-the-scenes material. The technological breakthrough: Gaál's three-minute video demonstrates the advanced capabilities of AI-generated video content, featuring artificial people, scenery, and production crews that appear remarkably lifelike. The commercial was created using Google DeepMind's experimental Veo 2 platform, which is currently available through a waitlist system The AI system has been specifically optimized to reduce common visual artifacts like incorrect hand rendering The project took approximately three weeks to complete, including editing and...
read Jan 24, 2025Google DeepMind CEO offers inside look into company’s AI innovations
Google DeepMind has developed more cost-effective AI processing methods that could provide a significant advantage in the ongoing competition among major tech companies. Breakthrough in AI Processing; Google has innovated a more efficient approach to running AI models through new "light chips" that could dramatically reduce operational costs. The new processors build upon Google's decade-long development of Tensor Processing Units, maintaining the same fundamental architecture These chips specifically address the growing computational demands of "inference" - the process of AI models executing tasks, similar to human thinking The innovation comes at a crucial time when running advanced AI models has...
read Jan 23, 2025Google’s Gemini AI works across multiple apps in new Galaxy smartphones
Google's AI assistant Gemini has gained new cross-application capabilities that allow users to complete multi-step tasks using natural language prompts, with the feature being prominently featured on Samsung's S25 phones. Key functionality: Gemini can now seamlessly work across multiple applications simultaneously to help users complete complex tasks that previously required manual switching between apps. Users can issue a single prompt to accomplish multi-step tasks, such as locating a restaurant and sharing the details with contacts The AI assistant works across both Samsung's native applications and Google's suite of apps While not exclusive to Samsung's S25 series, the feature will come...
read Jan 23, 2025Google is giving its new and very powerful ‘thinking’ AI model away for free
Google has released Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, a free AI model that processes up to one million tokens of text while explaining its reasoning process, setting new performance benchmarks in mathematical and scientific tasks. Key features and capabilities: Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking introduces unprecedented text processing capacity and native code execution abilities that position it as a significant advancement in AI technology. The model can process one million tokens of text, five times more than OpenAI's o1 Pro model, while maintaining faster response times Built-in code execution capabilities allow developers to run and test code directly within the system The...
read Jan 23, 2025Why Samsung’s alliance with Google is a major threat to iPhone dominance
At Unpacked 2025, Samsung announced its new Galaxy S25 smartphone lineup featuring advanced AI capabilities and deep integration with Google's technology ecosystem. Key announcement: Samsung unveiled its latest Galaxy S25 smartphones at the Unpacked event, showcasing on-device large language models and multimodal AI capabilities that adapt to user behavior. The new phones feature AI that can learn from user habits and take actions based on visual and audio inputs Samsung's partnership with Google's Project Astra enables advanced features like screen sharing and live video streaming These capabilities differentiate Galaxy devices from other Android phones, including Google's Pixel line Ecosystem strategy:...
read Jan 22, 2025These exciting new AI features are coming to Google Pixel and other Android phones
Samsung Unpacked 2025 showcased new AI features that will soon be available across Google Pixel and other Android devices, expanding the capabilities of digital assistants and search functions. Key Updates: Google announced that several AI features introduced at Samsung Unpacked will be rolled out to various Android devices, with some features exclusive to newer models like the Pixel 9 lineup. Gemini's functionality will expand to allow cross-app action chaining, enabling users to complete multiple tasks with a single command New capabilities will integrate with popular Google services including Maps, Calendar, and YouTube Third-party app support is planned for future expansion...
read Jan 22, 2025Google reportedly developed AI tools for the Israeli military
Google's direct collaboration with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on AI tools has been revealed through internal company documents, contradicting previous public statements about the nature of their work in Israel. Key revelations: Internal documents obtained by the Washington Post show Google's cloud division actively worked with the IDF following Hamas's October 7th attack on Israel and the subsequent ground invasion of Gaza. Google employees rushed to provide AI services to the IDF, competing directly with Amazon for the military's attention Documents reveal multiple instances of Google staff escalating the IDF's requests for AI technology access Internal communications show employees warning...
read Jan 22, 2025Google just announced the ability to chain actions together using Gemini — here’s why that’s a big deal
Google's Gemini AI platform is receiving significant updates coinciding with Samsung's S25 launch, introducing action chaining capabilities and enhanced multimodal features. Key Updates: Gemini's latest improvements focus on interconnected actions and expanded device compatibility, particularly for Samsung's newest phones and Google Pixel devices. Action chaining now enables users to perform sequential tasks across different apps, such as finding restaurants in Google Maps and drafting invitation texts in Messages The feature depends on app-specific extensions, with Google and Samsung apps being among the first to support this functionality Implementation requires developer-written extensions to connect individual apps with Gemini Multimodal Enhancements: Gemini...
read Jan 22, 2025Google enhances Circle to Search with AI Overviews, new features
Google's Circle to Search feature is receiving significant updates including AI-powered summaries and streamlined actions for contact information and web links. Core updates: Circle to Search, a tool that enables users to initiate Google searches by highlighting screen content, now incorporates AI Overviews and one-tap functionality for common actions. The feature allows users to activate searches by long-pressing the navigation pill or home button and then circling, scribbling, or tapping on screen content AI Overviews will now provide AI-generated summaries alongside traditional search results New one-tap actions enable immediate interaction with phone numbers, email addresses, and URLs Technical enhancements: The...
read Jan 22, 2025Google boosts Anthropic investment to $3 billion
Google has increased its investment in AI company Anthropic by an additional $1 billion, bringing its total stake to $3 billion. Investment details: Google's latest funding round expands its financial commitment to Anthropic, the company that develops the Claude AI models and competes directly with OpenAI. The new $1 billion investment builds upon Google's previous $2 billion stake in Anthropic Amazon has already invested $8 billion in Anthropic, showing significant Big Tech interest in the company Anthropic stands as a major competitor to OpenAI in the advanced AI development space Strategic implications: The increased investment reflects the ongoing competition among...
read Jan 21, 2025Google’s AI is being used to judge snowboard halfpipe competitions at X Games
The X Games is testing artificial intelligence to assist with judging snowboard halfpipe competitions in Aspen, marking a significant step in bringing AI technology to subjectively judged sports. The technology setup: Google Cloud's Vertex AI system has been trained on thousands of hours of halfpipe footage and established judging criteria to evaluate snowboarding performances. The AI platform was developed through a collaboration between X Games CEO Jeremy Bloom and Google founder Sergey Brin The system analyzes key performance elements including jump height, trick difficulty, and execution Judges traditionally score runs on a 100-point scale based on these technical components Initial...
read Jan 21, 2025Google integrates SandboxAQ’s quantum AI models into cloud services
Google Cloud now offers advanced quantitative AI models through a new partnership with quantum computing startup SandboxAQ. Key Partnership Details: Google Cloud is integrating SandboxAQ's large quantitative models (LQMs), marking the first time these specialized AI tools will be available on a third-party platform. The integration enables enterprises to develop and deploy LQMs more efficiently through Google Cloud's infrastructure LQMs are specialized AI models designed to process large numerical datasets and perform complex mathematical calculations This collaboration represents a significant expansion for SandboxAQ, which spun off from Alphabet in 2022 Business Impact and Applications: SandboxAQ's technology addresses fundamental quantitative needs...
read Jan 20, 2025A deeper look into how Google and Microsoft think about AI-powered search
Google and Microsoft have begun integrating generative AI features into their search engines, marking a significant shift in how users interact with search technology. The competitive landscape: Both tech giants are racing to enhance their search capabilities with AI while maintaining different approaches and priorities. Google has introduced SGE (Search Generative Experience), which provides AI-generated summaries and suggested follow-up questions alongside traditional search results Microsoft's Bing Chat, powered by OpenAI's technology, offers a more conversational interface that can engage in back-and-forth dialogue while searching Both companies are carefully balancing innovation with accuracy, implementing AI features gradually to ensure quality and...
read Jan 20, 2025Google’s new ‘Titans’ architecture gives AI human-like memory
Google has unveiled Titans, a new AI architecture that builds upon its Transformer technology by incorporating human-like memory capabilities and information processing systems. Key innovation: Titans introduces neural long-term memory alongside short-term memory capabilities and a surprise-based learning system that mirrors human cognitive processes. The architecture combines immediate focus (attention mechanism) with a long-term memory module that stores and retrieves important historical information The system uses a "surprise metric" to determine which information should be stored long-term, similar to how humans remember unexpected or significant events Unlike current AI models limited by fixed context windows, Titans can effectively process and...
read Jan 19, 2025Google Home is testing new AI features to manage all your routines
Google Home is making significant strides in its app development, with new features focused on AI integration, routine management, and vacation mode functionality revealed through recent code analysis. Key developments; Google Home version 3.29's dogfood build showcases several upcoming features that could reshape how users interact with their smart home ecosystem. A new Floating Action Button will provide AI-generated insights based on app usage and device interactions Users will be able to provide feedback on these insights and filter them to show favorites The integration leverages Google's Gemini AI technology, part of a broader effort to incorporate AI across Google's...
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