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.”
In this role, he’ll partner closely with me and Google leads to provide technical direction and leadership and grow our culture of tech excellence
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 was previously in charge of Assistant during its inception and is now an SVP.
Over the past few years, Nick has been instrumental in shaping Google’s AI product roadmap and collaborating closely with Prabhakar and his leadership team on K&I’s strategy. And throughout his career, Nick has demonstrated leadership across nearly every facet of K&I, from Product and Design in Search and Assistant, to our Shopping, Travel, and Payments products. He was also a pioneering leader in Ads, where he helped establish a rigorous quality and user-focused approach that remains key to our success. Nick has launched innovative consumer products like Google Fi and spearheaded complex initiatives such as RCS messaging. I frequently turn to Nick to tackle our most challenging product questions and he consistently delivers progress with tenacity, speed, and optimism.
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