Summary

  • CEO Sundar Pichai emailed employees where he previewed new AI products like Daily Listen and Gemini 2.0 Flash.
  • Google One subscribers can expect NotebookLM Plus in early 2025, allowing direct interface with AI hosts.
  • He also mentioned the company supports wildfire relief efforts through an employee matching program and philanthropic funding.



Google CEO Sundar Pichai kicked off the new year with a personal email to employees, where he previewed new AI products and features launching in the coming months. He referenced a strong close to 2024, citing the release of Gemini 2.0, Willow, and Veo 2.

An illustration with the Gemini 2.0 logo against a festive, pink background

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Pichai expressed his confidence in the company’s momentum and highlighted the progress Google is making in AI development (via 9to5Google). These efforts, Pichai noted, show Google’s technical and AI leadership in the field and he says these will continue to drive innovation in 2025.


Here’s what Pichai says we can expect in 2025


Some of the new AI features we can expect from Google this year were mentioned in Pichai’s email. There’s Daily Listen, a personalized podcast feature. It’s currently in testing in Search Labs. This tool curates stories based on user personal preferences, which Google pretty much knows all about.

Then there’s Gemini 2.0 Flash, set to reach general availability for developers this month. It will bring updates to the public-facing Gemini app and the introduction of experimental features for paid subscribers to try out.

NotebookLM Plus is rolling out to Google One subscribers in early 2025. This tool allows users to interface directly with AI hosts during a voice overview, and will be available for teams and organizations. Google previewed this back in December.

Finally, Gemini 2.0 will be more broadly integrated into the Google products we already know, such as Search and YouTube. At the very least, perhaps our YouTube recommendations will actually be good.



Google’s wildfire relief efforts

Pichai also acknowledged the challenges posed by the wildfires in southern California, which affect thousands of Google employees. Google has launched an employee matching program to support relief efforts and pledged funding through Google.org, its philanthropic arm. It also released SOS alerts and road closures on Maps and Waze.

The email closed with Pichai thanking all the Googlers who made 2024 a banner year for the company. There was no mention of the Pixel 10, so we’ll all have to wait a little longer for Google’s next-gen phone.