Google amped up its artificial intelligence offerings by unveiling a slew of new AI-powered capabilities during a keynote presentation Tuesday (April 9) at its annual Cloud Next event in Las Vegas.
To integrate AI capabilities into its suite of productivity tools, Google introduced Google Vids, a new addition to Google Workspace that allows users to create and edit videos collaboratively using AI-powered features.
Among the other new programs launched is Gemini Code Assist, an enterprise-level AI code completion tool designed to rival GitHub’s Copilot Enterprise. The announcements underscore the increasing adoption of AI in the business sector.
“The significance of this news from Google is the continuation of a reduced time to value and tight integration of AI with cloud platforms,” Zendata CEO Narayana Pappu told PYMNTS. “With these latest announcements, Google is making AI capabilities much more accessible to a broader set of companies with potential security capabilities and controls.”
About 11% of businesses that use the cloud use a single platform, Pappu noted.
“This number has been growing in the last few years due to cost savings and the simplicity of use as primary drivers,” he said. “This latest announcement, and the capabilities provided, bring Google Cloud Platform closer to the capabilities of Microsoft, which to date has been ahead of the game in terms of integrating AI across all of its platforms and tools.”
Here’s a look at some of Google’s new offerings.
Google showcased the growing adoption of its AI products among major corporations.
Automotive giant Mercedes-Benz is harnessing Google’s AI to optimize its manufacturing processes and enhance customer experiences.
Uber is using the technology to improve its autonomous driving capabilities and streamline its operations.
Retail behemoth Walmart uses Google’s AI to personalize shopping experiences, optimize supply chain management, and improve inventory forecasting.
In the financial sector, Goldman Sachs employs Google’s AI to enhance risk assessment, fraud detection and investment strategies.
French retail giant Carrefour uses Google’s Vertex AI platform to create targeted product marketing campaigns, allowing the company to deliver personalized recommendations and promotions to customers based on their preferences and shopping behaviors.
Meanwhile, online design platform Canva integrates Vertex AI into its AI-powered design tools, enabling users to create visuals, logos and layouts, even without extensive design experience.
“Central to the opportunities of gen AI are the connected AI agents that bring them to life,” Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said in a news release. “Agents help users achieve specific goals — like helping a shopper find the perfect dress for a wedding or helping nursing staff expedite patient hand-offs when shifts change. They can understand multi-modal information — processing video, audio and text together, connecting and rationalizing different inputs.”
An update to Google’s AI model, Gemini’s 1.5 Pro, now allows AI to hear, see images and read text. Additionally, Google announced an expansion of its context window, allowing companies to insert longer videos, audio files and more words when developing prompts.
Google unwrapped new enterprise tools that use Google Search to enhance the accuracy of AI models through retrieval augmented generation (RAG). This integration aims to reduce the likelihood of hallucinations and other inaccuracies in Gemini’s responses.
Google debuted new AI agents for tasks such as finding and analyzing information. Creative agents are designed for marketing teams and help create and personalize content with generative AI across design and production teams. Its features include brainstorming, storyboarding, social media content development, and AI-generated scripts and voices for podcasts.
As cybersecurity threats continue to grow in number and complexity, Google announced a suite of AI-driven security innovations designed to empower organizations in their fight against cyber threats. For example, Gemini in Threat Intelligence uses natural language to deliver insight into threat actor behavior. Google said Gemini’s larger context window allows for analysis of the interactions between modules, providing new insight into the code’s true intent.
Workplace users are also getting an AI boost in the form of videos. Google announced Google Vids, a new AI-powered video creation app designed for workplace use. The app assists in various stages of video development, from generating editable storyboards to suggesting stock footage, images and background music that match a chosen style.
Vids also offer preset voiceover options or the ability to record your narration. The app will integrate with existing Google Workspace tools like Docs, Sheets and Slides and focus on collaboration and ease of use. Google Vids is scheduled for a limited release to Workspace Labs in June.
Marianne Bunton, senior director of product marketing at Storyblocks, a subscription stock media platform, told PYMNTS that Google’s advantage lies in Vids’ integration and shareability within the existing Google Workspace suite of tools, making it a “compelling option” for businesses already using these services.
“AI and machine learning have enormous potential to empower individuals to reach their goals faster,” Bunton said. “Just as with other innovations, understanding how AI video tools fit in existing systems is crucial to maximizing these tools’ value. Anyone with access to AI video tools should test out their capabilities and determine how well they integrate with their business’s current workflows to see where users will get the greatest speed and ease benefits.”
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