Google Details July AI Updates Across Search, Photos, and Foundational Models
Summary
Google announced a wide range of AI enhancements in July, focusing on making its technology more practical and accessible across its product suite. The updates bring new generative AI capabilities to consumer products like Search, Google Photos, and Shopping to assist with learning, creativity, and personalization. The company also unveiled specialized models for scientific and historical research (AlphaEarth and Aeneas) and highlighted strategic progress in AI-driven cybersecurity and major infrastructure investments.
Key Takeaways
* Enhanced Search & Learning:
* AI Mode in Search received upgrades for the school year, including Canvas for planning, Search Live with video, and PDF uploads.
* AI Mode is now integrated into Circle to Search and Lens, allowing for follow-up questions on visual searches and providing in-game assistance for Android gamers.
* NotebookLM can now generate "Video Overviews" from source material and features a new "Studio panel" to create outputs like Mind Maps and Study Guides.
* Creative & Media Tools:
* Google Photos now incorporates an AI tool to animate still photos into videos and "Remix" them into styles like anime or 3D art. A new "Create" tab consolidates these tools.
* Access to Veo 3, Google's high-end video generation model, was expanded to AI Pro subscribers in over 150 countries.
* Flow, the AI tool for filmmakers, now uses Veo 3 to generate speech for video clips, in addition to sound effects.
* Personalized E-Commerce:
* A new virtual try-on experience launched in the U.S., allowing users to upload a photo to see how clothing items look on them.
* Price alerts have been upgraded to track specific sizes and colors.
* Specialized Research Models:
* Aeneas: A new Google DeepMind model designed to help historians interpret, attribute, and restore fragmented ancient Latin texts.
* AlphaEarth Foundations: An AI model that functions as a "virtual satellite" to map the planet's land and coastal waters in detail, aiding research in areas like deforestation and food security.
* Cybersecurity & Infrastructure:
* Google announced it used an AI agent to proactively stop a cybersecurity vulnerability "in the wild," claiming it as a first.
* The company detailed over $25 billion in data center and AI infrastructure investment in the PJM region and a $3 billion deal to modernize two Pennsylvania hydropower facilities.
Strategic Importance
These updates demonstrate Google's two-pronged AI strategy: deeply embedding generative AI into its core consumer products to drive user engagement and value, while simultaneously developing highly specialized, foundational models to push the boundaries of scientific research and enterprise-level security.