Latest news with #GoogleAIUltra
CNBC
6 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
Alphabet to report Q2 earnings after the bell
Alphabet is set to report its second-quarter earnings after the bell Wednesday. Here's what analysts polled by LSEG are expecting: Wall Street is also watching these numbers in the report: Alphabet is among the megacaps expected to be a major driver of earnings growth during the second-quarter earnings season. Wall Street is anticipating the search giant to report a 10.9% increase in revenue and 15% growth in earnings per share. Shares of Alphabet haven't moved much this year, lagging the other Magnificent Seven stocks and the S&P 500. Investors are primarily concerned about the rise of artificial intelligence chatbots, which could impact Google's ability to remain competitive in search. During the second quarter, the search giant rolled out a number of new AI products. At its annual Google I/O conference in May, Google announced a new subscription tier, called "Google AI Ultra," that offers access to the company's "cutting edge" AI features for $249.99 per month. Google also unveiled its return to the smart glasses market with a $150 million partnership with Warby Parker — the two companies said they plan to launch a series of smart glasses as soon as next year. Google in May also announced a venture fund to invest in AI startups. As part of the "AI Futures Fund," eligible startups will receive Google investment, early access to AI models, and hands-on support from Google researchers, engineers and go-to-market specialists. They also get credits to use on Google Cloud. Additionally in May, Google began testing the placement of its "AI Mode" product on its home page, directly beneath the Google search. Earlier this month, OpenAI added Google to its list of suppliers, saying it expects to use the search company's cloud infrastructure for its popular ChatGPT service. The announcement represented a win for Google, whose cloud unit is younger and smaller than those of Amazon and Microsoft. Google made a splash in the AI talent wars, announcing it would bring in Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan and other top researchers at the artificial intelligence coding startup as part of a $2.4 billion deal that also includes licensing the company's technology. Internally, Google also made a number of personnel changes during the quarter. The company added the new role of chief AI architect when it elevated Koray Kavukcuoglu from his position as Google DeepMind's chief technology officer in June. Google also made more workforce reductions by offering buyouts to U.S.-based employees across several of its divisions, including search, ads and commerce. Alphabet made several strides with Waymo, its self-driving car unit, during the quarter. Waymo reached 100 million "real world, fully autonomous miles" driven on public roads, the company said last week. Waymo also announced expansions into new markets. In June, Waymo announced plans to drive vehicles manually in New York, marking the first step toward potentially cracking the largest U.S. city. In July, the company said it will do limited testing in Philadelphia and it began offering accounts for teens ages 14 to 17, starting in Phoenix. The company also endured some less-flattering optics during the quarter. In June, Google's cloud suffered significant global outages knocking down or disrupting dozens of large internet services, including OpenAI and Shopify, among others.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Google expands AI Mode with extra features for search
Google is continuing to double down on its AI Mode, bringing more features to its dedicated Search chatbot. Today, the company is adding the Gemini 2.5 Pro model and the Deep Search capability to AI Mode. These features will be available to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers. Although both of these tools can still be accessed through other means, Google's move to incorporate them into the chatbot points to an end goal of AI Mode being the primary form of engagement with the company's signature search service. These developments are follow-ups to announcements made during Google's I/O conference this spring. AI Mode began rolling out to all Google users in May, and Deep Think was also announced as an option for the Gemini 2.5 Pro model at that time. Another AI tool teased at I/O was the ability for Gemini to place phone calls with Project Astra. This agentic option is also coming in a limited form to AI Mode. For starters, it will only be able to contact local businesses and its topics will be limited to inquiring about availability and pricing. When a person searches for companies or services, they may see an option such as "Have AI check prices" that will initiate a call to that business. These AI phone calls are rolling out today to all Search users, but Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers will have higher limits.
Engadget
16-07-2025
- Business
- Engadget
Google expands AI Mode with extra features for search
Google is continuing to double down on its AI Mode, bringing more features to its dedicated Search chatbot. Today, the company is adding the Gemini 2.5 Pro model and the Deep Search capability to AI Mode. These features will be available to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers. Although both of these tools can still be accessed through other means, Google's move to incorporate them into the chatbot points to an end goal of AI Mode being the primary form of engagement with the company's signature search service. These developments are follow-ups to announcements made during Google's I/O conference this spring. AI Mode began rolling out to all Google users in May, and Deep Think was also announced as an option for the Gemini 2.5 Pro model at that time. Another AI tool teased at I/O was the ability for Gemini to place phone calls with Project Astra . This agentic option is also coming in a limited form to AI Mode. For starters, it will only be able to contact local businesses and its topics will be limited to inquiring about availability and pricing. When a person searches for companies or services, they may see an option such as "Have AI check prices" that will initiate a call to that business. These AI phone calls are rolling out today to all Search users, but Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers will have higher limits.
Malaysian Reserve
14-07-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Google's Gemini AI app can now turn photos into short video clips
ALPHABET Inc.'s Google is adding the ability for paid users of its Gemini artificial intelligence assistant to turn their photos into short video clips, expanding access to a tool the tech giant launched earlier this year to a more limited audience. People who subscribe to Google AI Ultra and Pro plans in select regions will be able to use the feature through the web version of Gemini starting Thursday, the company said in a statement. The tool will be rolled out on the Gemini mobile app throughout the week. The new feature lets users create 8-second clips with sound based on a photo, as well as any text description of the scene they include in the prompt field. The videos will be created as an MP4 file at 720p resolution in a 16:9 landscape format, the company said. The update makes the powerful feature accessible via Gemini's chat interface, helping Google keep pace with US rivals like OpenAI and Runway AI Inc., a startup specializing in AI-generated video. It faces fierce global competition in this space, too: China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., AI startup Manus and Kuaishou Technology have all released new or updated video tools over the past few months. Google's photo-to-video feature is powered by Veo 3, the company's latest video generation model announced in May at its annual developer conference. Veo 3 has been available to users through a standalone paid filmmaking tool called Flow. Google says it has taken 'significant steps behind the scenes to make sure video generation is an appropriate experience.' For example, it doesn't allow video creation with images of publicly identifiable figures, such as celebrities, presidents or even some well-known CEOs. Its policy also prohibits outputs that encourage dangerous activities or incite violence or bullying against individuals or groups. But it has its drawbacks. When Bloomberg News tested the feature on the web version of Gemini, uploading personal photos and asking the tool to generate a video of a person talking, the output changed the facial features, and sometimes even the race, of the subject in multiple instances. While it was able to successfully respond to prompts to create videos of plants moving in the wind or a talking cat based on still images, it wasn't able to follow more complicated prompts, such as making a person in a photo breakdance. It instead created a video of the person waving to the camera. There is no instruction in the AI model to change a person's appearance, a Google spokesman said in response to Bloomberg's test results. The photo-to-video generation and face animation features are still a new technology and may build upon a single image in ways that aren't representative of the original image, he added. The model is better at bringing other scenes to life, such as animating everyday objects, drawings and paintings, and adding movement to nature photos, he said. The company will continue improving the model, including face animation, in future updates. –BLOOMBERG
TECHx
11-07-2025
- TECHx
Google Gemini Launches New Photo-to-Video Feature in MENA
Home » Latest news » Google Gemini Launches New Photo-to-Video Feature in MENA Google has announced the launch of a new photo-to-video capability within its Gemini platform. This feature allows creators and artists to transform their photos into dynamic eight-second video clips with sound. The capability is now available to Google AI Ultra and Pro subscribers across the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, Google revealed the launch of Flow, an AI filmmaking tool designed for its advanced models Veo, Imagen, and Gemini. Flow helps storytellers create cinematic clips and scenes, offering camera controls, scene editing, and asset management features. To create videos, users select 'Videos' in the prompt box, upload a photo, and provide scene and audio instructions. The system then animates the image, bringing drawings, paintings, or nature scenes to life. Users can share or download their creations once complete. Google reported that over 40 million Veo 3 videos have been generated in just seven weeks via the Gemini app and Flow. All videos include a visible watermark to indicate AI generation and an invisible SynthID digital watermark. Google Gemini and Flow are accessible through Google AI Pro and Ultra subscriptions for users in the MENA region.
