Google Restructures AI Teams: Gemini App Moves to DeepMind, Leadership Changes Announced

Google shifts Gemini app team to DeepMind

(Reuters) - Alphabet's Google said on Thursday it will move the team behind the Gemini app to its artificial intelligence research lab DeepMind as the search giant looks to streamline its structure and better position itself in the generative AI race. The shift "will improve feedback loops, enable fast deployment of our new models in the Gemini app," CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post. Gemini is Google's most advanced AI technology, developed by DeepMind. The Gemini app is the direct consumer interface to the latest Gemini models. The Gemini app team, led by Sissie Hsiao, will join Google DeepMind under the leadership of its CEO Demis Hassabis. Google also announced that Prabhakar Raghavan, who has led the company's products including search, ads and commerce will become chief technologist and work closely with Pichai. Raghavan's role as lead of the Knowledge and Information team will be taken up by Nick Fox, who has closely worked with Google on its AI product roadmap. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

Google shifts Gemini app team to DeepMind

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab said on Thursday it will move the team behind the Gemini app to its artificial intelligence research lab DeepMind as the search giant looks to streamline its structure and better position itself in the generative AI race. The shift "will improve feedback loops, enable fast deployment of our new models in the Gemini app," CEO Sundar Pichai said in a blog post. Gemini is Google's most advanced AI technology, developed by DeepMind. The Gemini app is the direct consumer interface to the latest Gemini models. Advertisement · Scroll to continue The Gemini app team, led by Sissie Hsiao, will join Google DeepMind under the leadership of its CEO Demis Hassabis. Google also announced that Prabhakar Raghavan, who has led the company's products including search, ads and commerce will become chief technologist and work closely with Pichai. Raghavan's role as lead of the Knowledge and Information team will be taken up by Nick Fox, who has closely worked with Google on its AI product roadmap. Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Google Adds Gemini Team to DeepMind, Continuing AI Consolidation

Alphabet Inc.'s Google is moving the team behind its Gemini AI assistant app to its DeepMind research lab, continuing a plan to consolidate the company's various groups working on artificial intelligence. The search giant is simplifying its structures to "keep increasing the pace of progress" of AI development, Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said in a blog post on Thursday. He also announced that Prabhakar Raghavan, a longtime leader of core products like Gmail and Drive, will become the company's chief technologist.

Google Adds Gemini Team to DeepMind, Continuing AI Consolidation

(Bloomberg) -- Alphabet Inc.'s Google is moving the team behind its Gemini AI assistant app to its DeepMind research lab, continuing a plan to consolidate the company's various groups working on artificial intelligence. The search giant is simplifying its structures to "keep increasing the pace of progress" of AI development, Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said in a blog post on Thursday. He also announced that Prabhakar Raghavan, a longtime leader of core products like Gmail and Drive, will become the company's chief technologist. Over the last six months, Google has been consolidating its AI-focused teams, seeking to improve the Gemini models to challenge the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic. In April, the firm moved its models, research and responsible AI teams to the DeepMind division. Soon after, it merged DeepMind with Google Brain, a rival research unit within the company.

Google announces big reorg: Gemini app team moves to DeepMind, Assistant now part of Pixel/Android

Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a big reorganization across Gemini, Assistant, and Search. Previously, the Gemini app team was part of Google's Knowledge & Information division that includes Search, Ads, Geo (Maps), and Commerce. They are now being moved into the Google DeepMind organization formed last year. Pichai says "bringing the teams closer together will improve feedback loops, enable fast deployment of our new models in the Gemini app, make our post-training work proceed more efficiently and build on our great product momentum." Meanwhile, instead of being part of (close to) the Gemini team, "Assistant teams focused on devices and home experiences will move to Platforms & Devices," or the Pixel and Android division. This means Assistant teams "can sit closer to the product surfaces they're building for and bring our AI-powered home initiatives into one team and focus on improving user experience." Additionally, Google Search chief Prabhakar Raghavan is leaving that senior vice president role and will "return to his computer science roots and take on the role of Chief Technologist, Google." Prabhakar's leadership journey at Google has been remarkable, spanning Research, Workspace, Ads, and K&I. He led the Gmail team in launching Smart Reply and Smart Compose as early examples of using AI to improve products, and took Gmail and Drive past 1 billion users. Across K&I, Prabhakar and team have achieved significant growth and innovation: from launching AI Overviews, a groundbreaking advancement in Search that benefits hundreds of millions of users worldwide to introducing new search modalities like Circle to Search, video understanding, and "shop what you see" in Lens -- all while improving core Search functionality. Maps and Shopping have transformed with AI-driven features like immersive view and virtual try-on. And in Ads, we've made real progress with AI-powered ad formats and streamlined campaign management, while continuing to innovate with Performance Max to empower millions of businesses. Knowledge & Information will now be led by longtime Googler Nick Fox, who previously led Assistant and is now an SVP.

The gap between Google's Gemini and Assistant teams just got a whole lot wider

The Wild West days of sideloading on Android are officially over in this week's news Key Takeaways Google reorganized the Gemini & Assistant teams for better efficiency, proving that the two services will not merge. The reorganization was announced in a blog post by CEO Sundar Pichai to Google employees. Gemini will merge with the DeepMind division, while Assistant will fall under the Platforms & Devices division. It's the third shakeup at Google in 2024. This time it's the turn of the Gemini and Google Assistant teams to get shuffled around as the company aims for maximum efficiency. It also answers a question many have had for over a year: what happens with Google Assistant now that Gemini is here? Related Google Gemini tips and tricks: Put Google's most capable AI model to good use Not sure what's up with Gemini? Here are the goods Google CEO Sundar Pichai outlined the changes to employees in a blog post on Google's The Keyword. He highlighted the need to keep the pace of progress in the rapidly evolving field of AI. The reorganization will see the Gemini app team, responsible for the consumer-facing side of Google's latest AI, merge with the Google DeepMind team. The Assistant team will join the Platforms & Devices division, that oversees Pixel and Nest products. We've seen this kind of thing before Google has been on a reorganizing bender over the past few months. Google's Research and Bard teams merged to create the 'DeepMind' division under Demis Hassabis back in March. Google's former AI head, Jeff Dean, became the company's chief scientist. Then, in April, Google merged its Android and Pixel teams under Rick Osterloh, sending shockwaves through the industry. Many wondered if this represented an unfair disadvantage for third-party OEMs that rely on Android. After all, the Pixel is a direct competitor to other Android phones. Meanwhile, Nick Fox will take over as the head of the Knowledge & Information division, the bread and butter of Google's business. This is the division that oversees Search, Ads, Geo (including Maps), and Commerce. Pichai expressed his confidence in Fox's ability to lead the team in his new role, and cited his deep understanding of Google's products. So what's the deal with Assistant, anyway? But the main question we've been asking has been answered. Assistant will not be merging with Gemini. This move makes that obvious. It does not seem as if Gemini will be replacing Assistant on home devices, either. At least, not for now. Instead, we're stuck with two different bots that do different things. Gemini, a multi-modal LLM that can answer questions and help with homework and search the internet and create photos, and Assistant, which can set calendar appointments and turn off lights. Google has made it clear that Assistant is simply smart home software, and Gemini is the future of the company.