Key Takeaways:
At the Cloud Next ’24 conference in Las Vegas, Google announced a bunch of AI updates
Core apps such as Google Chrome Enterprise and Google Workspace are getting some interesting AI updates
Gemini’s latest version is finally here and its services have expanded beyond just being a chatbot
Some open-source platforms have also been also announced to enhance Google’s AI projects and infrastructure
Google, at its Cloud Next 2024 conference in Las Vegas, announced a bunch of updates to be rolled out in 2024 – all with the help of its new and powerful Gemini AI chatbot.
AI is the centerpiece of every update, whether that’s Gemini or Google’s core apps such as Google Sheets and Google Docs. Read my in-depth coverage to know every single one of Google’s updates.
Google Workspace Updates
Google Workspace has been around for decades but this year it is undergoing a major makeover with AI.
1. Gmail
Gmail’s AI-based “Help Me Write” can now be used through voice prompts.
Another new feature is being added that will turn a rough draft of your email into an edited and polished one.
The features will first be available to the paying users and once the company gets feedback on how the tools are performing, it might consider expanding it to all users.
2. Google Sheets
Users will now get a custom alert for any changes made in a sheet they own or are a part of.
You will also get a new set of templates to kickstart your spreadsheet work more easily.
3. Google Docs
You will get full-bleed cover images that you create with Gemini. Just type in a simple prompt and Gemini AI will create an image that goes with the content of your document.
Google Docs will now also support multiple tabs in a single document. These tabs will help you organize larger documents more efficiently.
For example, if you have an upcoming client meeting, you can organize your pitch and budgetary requirements in the same document and separate it with tabs (instead of linking to another document).
Google has excellent news for large companies as well. Google Chat can now handle up to 500,000 members. And thanks to the partnership between Google and Mio, Google users can also work with Slack and Teams.
4. Paid AI Updates
In addition to the free updates, Google is also providing two paid AI updates available at $10/month.
An AI security package that you can use to keep your confidential documents.
An AI meeting and messaging add-on that takes notes on your behalf, creates meeting summaries for you, and can translate that content into 69 different languages.
Google Vids
Google Vids is the company’s new AI-powered video creation tool – a one-stop solution for video production, writing, and editing.
Using the tool is pretty simple:
All that you have to do is pick a style and template.
The tool will automatically choose stock images, videos, and background music.
Then, based on your prompt, it will create the perfect storyboard that you can edit.
You can also replace the background music with a voiceover – either your own voice or a pre-recorded voice template from the app.
This app will work alongside other Workspace tools like Docs and Sheets. The best part is that you can also collaborate with your colleagues as you make a video.
No need to email files back and forth. You and your team can work on the story at the same time with all the same access controls and security that we provide for all of Workspace.Aparna Pappu, VP & GM at Google Workspace
Vertex AI Agent Builder
Google’s new Vertex AI Agent builder helps you build conversational AI bots for your business. This is a no-code product built on Google’s Vertex AI Search and Conversation product and the latest Gemini large language models.
Vertex AI Agent Builder uses a technology called “grounding”. It basically means that when a user asks a question, the chatbot will pull the answer from a reliable source. In this case, it will be the Google Search engine.
How reliable those answers will be is still a concern. However, the company has assured that they will be using RAG APIs and vector search to prevent hallucinations, which is when the tool makes up an answer if it can’t find one.
Imagen 2
Google’s built-in image generator in Gemini made headlines shortly after its launch—and not for good reasons. The tool was accused of being “too woke” and generating historically and culturally inaccurate images. Soon after the accusations started pouring in, Google pulled the plug on the image generator temporarily.
Now, Google has introduced a far more advanced text-to-image generator called Imagen 2. The best part about this tool is its availability across a wide range of platforms. Creators can use it on Gemini and SGE (search generative experience) and enterprise developers can use it on Google Cloud’s Vertex AI.
Google assured that Imagen 2 is better at processing prompts and creates high-definition images that capture and portray even the smallest details. Its capabilities are not just limited to image generation – you can also create short four-second clips with the tool.
Gemini 1.5 Pro
This is one of the biggest updates. Google has launched the latest version of Gemini, which is now available in public preview on Vertex AI.
Gemini 1.5 Pro’s biggest USP is that it can process 128,000 to 1 million tokens (the fundamental units of the data being processed). To give you an estimate, 1 million tokens is equal to 30,000 lines of code and 700,000 words. This will allow the chatbot to analyze lengthy documents and hold long conversations without forgetting the context.
In addition to that, Gemini 1.5 Pro will be multilingual as well as understand images, videos, and even audio alongside text-based inputs. So, you can use it to analyze and compare content in movies and TV shows and transcribe video clips.
However, the ability to process 1 million tokens comes with a major drawback. It takes about 20 seconds to a full minute for the tool to process the queries which is much longer than the time taken by ChatGPT. However, the company has assured they are working on the issue and that the response time will be optimized soon.
Read more: ChatGPT 5 is coming as Sam Altman is already over GPT 4
Gemini AI in Databases
Google has introduced Gemini AI in Databases, which is a bundle of AI tools for developers who are customers of Google Cloud. It’ll help them create, monitor, and migrate app databases.
#1 Database Studio
One of the key aspects of Gemini in Databases is the Database Studio – an editor that can help generate, summarize, and even fix the problems in your SQL code. Here, you’ll also get a chatbot-like tool that will offer suggestions on your code.
For database migrations, Google’s existing Database Migration Service is getting a makeover with AI assistance.
#2 Database Center
Another interesting addition under Gemini in Databases is Google’s new Database Center. It simplifies managing databases by letting you interact with them using natural language.
Plus, you can manage the availability, security, and compliance of a bunch of databases in one place. And if anything goes wrong here, you can always use the Gemini chatbot for troubleshooting tips.
#3 Gemini Looker
Another major addition is Gemini Looker. It’s an AI-based analytical tool that can create reports and presentations. It integrates with both Google’s suite of enterprise productivity tools as well as Google Workspace.
Gemini Code Assist
As the name suggests, Gemini Code Assist is a code completion and assistance tool. It helps teams build high-quality applications quickly and more securely. This might ring a bell because Google used to offer a similar service under a tool called Duet AI.
Gemini in Threat Intelligence
Gemini in Threat Intelligence is an AI-powered security component of the company’s flagship cyber security platform called Mandiant.
It can analyze long codes to detect early signs of a possible attack or an ongoing threat. Users can do the threat analysis manually or use natural language searches. It will also help you summarize open-source intelligence reports from around the web.
Furthermore, Gemini will be joining hands with Chronicle (Google’s cybersecurity telemetry offering for cloud customers) and will help security analysts with recommendations based on the context of the investigation.
Other benefits include summarizing security event data and creating rules for breach and exploit detection, all through its chatbot-like interface.
Google Chrome Enterprise Premium
Google Workspace isn’t the only suite of tools getting an update. The company has some really ambitious plans for Google Chrome enterprise as well.
Chrome Enterprise Premium will be available at $6/user/month and will mostly enhance the security capabilities of existing features. Here’s a quick breakdown of what it offers:
Context-aware Access Controls: Reduces data exfiltration risks by allowing access based on the user’s IP address, identity type, and device data. These built-in rules prevent unauthorized users from accessing confidential resources.
Threat and Data Protection: This helps you with data inspection and provides data loss protection. Plus, URL filtering and site categorization protect your business from malware and phishing attempts.
Enterprise Control: Helps you enforce enterprise policies, and employee devices and manage their software updates and extensions. Support for protocols like TCP, SCP, SSH, and RDP is also available.
Security Insights and Reporting: With event reporting, device reporting, and forensic capabilities, it gives you enterprise-wide visibility into everything that’s happening in your company. Plus, it lets you integrate with third-party security solutions for advanced protection.
Other Updates Announced at Google Cloud Next 2024
In addition to changes in its core products and AI, Google is also branching into a few other interesting projects.
1. Nvidia’s Blackwell Platform
The biggest announcement is that Nvidia’s next-generation Blackwell architecture will soon be joining Google Cloud in early 2025.
There isn’t much information available about it at the moment. All that we know is that it provides support for high-performance Nvidia HGX B200 for AI and HPC workloads and GB200 NBL72 for large language model (LLM) training.
2. Axion
Google is entering the custom Arm-based processor market with its new Axion chip. This move puts the company in direct competition with Amazon and Microsoft, both of which have already entered the industry.
Speaking of the Axion chip, it promises to deliver 30% better performance than the fastest general-purpose Arm-based instances currently available in the market and up to 50% improved performance and 60% improved energy efficiency compared to similar X86-based models.
Axion-based servers are already powering their own services such as YouTube Ads, Spanner, BigTable, and more. As for customers, they will be able to use the Axion chip in many Google Cloud services such as Dataflow, Cloud Batch, Dataproc, and more.
3. Open Source Tools
Google has debuted a number of open-source tools to help with generative AI projects and infrastructure. Here are some of them:
Max Diffusion: a database of reference implementations of various diffusion models that run on XLA, or Accelerated Linear Algebra, devices.
JetStream: a new engine that will be used to run generative AI models.
Max Test: a database of text-generating AI models targeting Nvidia GPUs and TPUs in the cloud.
Optimum TPU: A tool that will help you bring certain AI workloads to TPUs.
Clearly, Google is progressing quite rapidly in the field of AI, posing a tough challenge to competitors like OpenAI, Microsoft, and Apple.
Read more: Apple is planning to join hands with Google to license AI tools
