google – Page 8

A short news roundup for Friday

Google launches nother gemini preview, marginally better than the last one. — (Picture: Google)

Google has launched a slightly improved Gemini 2.5 Pro model, the 06-05, scoring moderately better on some benchmarks, and answering Ars Technica’s question on the color Magenta.

It should be available in the Gemini app, and also for free users, who get between three to ten questions per session. This is the model Google plans to take out of Preview as a stable, full model at a later time.

Google has started testing «talk to search» on Android and iOS. The feature lets you discuss and refine search results by clicking under the search bar in the Google app, by text or voice — and you can keep talking after leaving the app.

Anthropic blocks Windsurf access to Claude. Windsurf is an AI coding application that lets you choose which models to use, and the block comes «just weeks after Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was acquiring Windsurf.» «It would be odd for us to be selling Claude to OpenAI,» says Anthropic.

Anthropic opposes 10-year moratorium on state AI laws. In a New York Times op-ed, CEO Dario Amodei argues that AI is developing so fast that new laws might be needed well ahead of the ten-year mark currently being considered in the US Senate. «I believe that these systems could change the world, fundamentally, within two years; in 10 years, all bets are off,» he writes.

NotebookLM now lets you easily share projects

You can share your research with others on NotebookLM — Sharing NotebookLM links could become the next internet fad, if Google gets its way. (Picture: Google)

Google has a smash hit on its hands with the AI app, and is now expanding access to notebooks with a simple link.

The shared service lets other users interact with your stored notebooks, to ask questions and make podcasts of your research. You can restrict access to only chats, if you like.

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Final day of Google’s antitrust trial hinges on AI

The final day of Google antitrust remedies trial turned to AI. — Google could lose Chrome and golden default deals in its antitrust trial. (Picture: Pietro & Silvia, CC BY 2.0)

The question for the courts last day of closing arguments was this: Are AI competitors also operating in the search market?

Both sides argued they weren’t, as it could interfere with long standing DOJ arguments that Google is a search monopoly, and for Google looking to avoid scrutiny of its recent behavior.

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Court rejects free speech rights for AI chatbots — for now

Can an AI be sued for the wrongful death of a young teen to suicide? Or do they have free speech rights? A trial will now decide. — A young teen was allegedly encouraged into suicide. Now the question is whether an AI chatbot can be held accountable. (Picture: Character.ai)

In a Florida court case that could one day define First Amendment rights for AI, a judge has declined to consider the defendant’s arguments for dismissal — setting the stage for a trial showdown over whether AI chatbots are faulty products or entities entitled to rights previously reserved for humans.

The case revolves around a teen whom Character.ai allegedly encouraged into suicide over a long interaction, and whether the developers should be held accountable for his tragic death, in a wrongful death lawsuit.

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Google to leverage it’s greatest AI advantage — your data

Do you really want Google's AI to have access to your emails and personal data? — If you let it, Gemini can scan through your past emails to write a new one. (Picture: Google)

Buried inside the complex blog posts from the Google I/O keynote yesterday, lies an interesting little nugget titled «The power of personalization.»

In it, Google explains how it can make Gemini and search better by tailoring responses to the vast data Google keeps on you from prior searches, docs in Google Drive — and even your past emails in Gmail.

All of this data is under Google’s control and is infinitely searchable by an AI, which won’t have to spend much time to get to know you «better.»

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Google pairs with Warby Parker for AI-enabled, smart glasses

Gemini will see and hear everything you do with these Andoird XR glasses — Google showcased the glasses on stage at Google I/O, highlighting their translation capacity. (Picture: Google)

Easy to miss the torrent of AI news at Google I/O was a demo of their upcoming AI-powered smart glasses, expected «after 2025.»

The glasses pair with Gemini on your phone, has an in-lens display, camera, ear buds and microphones and can show you your Android apps.

More importantly, though, is the integration with the AI. The glasses become Gemini’s eyes and ears and will see all you see and listen to conversations around you.

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Google rolls out AI Mode in US, during AI feast at Google I/O

Google debuts AI Mode, Gemini for Chrome and lots more at I/O this year — So much news. Google brings a firehose of new AI features to Google I/O. (Picture: Google Imagen 4)

Google’s I/O conference kicked off with a tsunami of AI news last night. Clearly, the company is going all-in on artificial intelligence, and is using all the levers in its power to promote it — even in Chrome.

The most important news they presented is AI Mode going live in the USA, using what is likely the most valuable screen real estate on the planet — Google’s front page — to leverage the new AI search feature. It’s been in testing for about a week.

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Google unveils AlphaEvolve, an AI model for algorithm discovery

Google DeepMind’s AlphaEvolve can even improve on its own hardware. — Google DeepMind’s AlphaEvolve can even improve on itself. (Picture: Google)

The model is already at work and producing savings internally at Google, having discovered more efficient algorithms and better hardware solutions.

— AlphaEvolve is a Gemini-powered AI coding agent that is able to make new discoveries in computing and mathematics, says Matej Balog, a researcher at Google DeepMind, to VentureBeat.

Google doesn’t say when the model will be available to the general public, but is planning on working with certain scientists and is «exploring» a broader release.

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Google is testing «AI Mode» directly on the front page

Google is experimenting with replacing the "I'm Feeling Lucky"-button with "AI Mode." — Can you spot the difference? Google is experimenting with a change on the front page. (Picture: screenshot)

Replacing the time honored «I’m Feeling lucky,» select users now see «AI Mode» instead.

By doing this, albeit in their Labs section, Google shows they are considering using some of the most valuable screen real estate on the planet to further promote its Gemini AI models.

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Google drops new Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview, says it excels at coding

Google wants their new Gemini model to be the «go-to model» for devs. (Picture: Google)

The Lmarena leaderboard has a new top contender, after Google launched its new, most advanced reasoning model last night.

Google touts it as especially good for developers, improving on what many felt was already the best coding model.

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Google’s AdSense experimenting with AI chatbots

Google's Adsense is expanding into "converstional ai." — The era of free AI chats may be coming to an end, with google experimenting with ads. (Picture: Google)

The internet display ad behemoth is moving with the times, as the AI industry seeks to monetize. It’s likely only a question of time before we get ads in Gemini.

AdSense apparently began experimenting with ads for AI chatbots, or, as they call it «conversational AI,» in chatbots iAsk and Liner, according to Bloomberg, which is paywalled.

Just a test?
SEO roundtable quotes Bloomberg as saying that AdSense had «expanded to include conversations with chatbots operated by AI startups.»

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Big Tech embraces AI coding, hitting 30% of software

Major big tech businesses are doing substantial amounts of AI coding. — Gemini 2.5 Pro opens even more avenues for coding, says Alphabet. They are taking that to heart. (Picture: Google)

With Satya Nadella’s announcement overnight that Microsoft uses AI to code around 30% of their software, AI coding has come of age. Other Big Tech companies have also reported similar numbers lately.

— I’d say maybe 20%, 30% of the code that is inside of our repos today and some of our projects are probably all written by software, said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during a conversation at LlamaCon, Meta’s AI developer conference, according to CNBC

Microsoft says they have made progress with Python, and less with C++ projects, but he is still pointing that some projects could be entirely written by AI.

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Google’s Gemini reaches 350 million monthly users

Gemeni's users have skyrocketed from last year. — Gemeni’s users have skyrocketed from last year. (Picture: Google)

Google showed off an internal slide of monthly active users for its Gemini AI models, hitting a strong benchmark as of March 2025.

The same slide showed daily traffic was at 35 million active users.

Impressive growth
That signals an exponential growth from around 10 million monthly active users from late last year, reports Ars Technica.

It also shows the reach that’s been possible by defaulting to Gemini over Assistant on Android phones and the strength of offering 2.5 Pro to free users just a short while ago. Gemini is also the default assistant on Galaxy phones

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Google paying «enormous sums» for Gemini on Samsung phones

Google is using financial muscle to gain market share with Samsung users. (Picture: Google)

As the antitrust remedy trial against Google continues, Google’s vice president of platforms and device partnerships, Peter Fitzgerald said in court on Monday that Googles payments started in January, after Google was found in breach of antitrust laws for paying Apple and others for placements of search products.

The two year deal included monthly payments and a share of ad revenue, writes The Verge.

The aim of the deal is to give Gemini the pride of being the default AI assistant og Galaxy phones, which sell a ton worldwide.

Should Google loose the trial, which is only for remedies after earlier being found guilty of a monopoly in advertising, they would be forbidden from deals like these, will have to sell Chrome, and open search data to licensing deals.

Read more at The Verge, at 9to5Google and a paywalled Bloomberg.

OpenAI interested in buying Chrome

Google could be forced to sell Chrome, and Openai is interested in buying it. — Google be forced to slll Chrome, and Openai is interested in buying it.

If the the prosecution prevails in the current USA vs Google antitrust case, they could be forced to divest the most popular browser on the planet.

Now OpenAI’s ChatGPT head of product, Nick Turley, said in open court that they «would be interested» in buying it, according to Reuters.

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