60 Google AI news announcements from 2024: Gemini, NotebookLM and more

It’s been a big year for Google AI. It may seem as though features like Circle to Search and NotebookLM’s Audio Overviews have been around for as long as you can remember, but they only launched in 2024. Joining them were a slew of other product releases and updates meant to make your day-to-day life even a little bit easier. So, as we say goodbye to 2024 (and prepare for the exciting AI news that’s sure to come in 2025), take a look at some of the top Google AI news stories that resonated with readers this year.

January

2024 began, quite fittingly, with fresh updates across a host of products and tools, including Gemini, Chrome, Pixel and Search. The announcement of our Circle to Search feature made a particular splash with readers. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. The power of Google AI comes to the new Samsung Galaxy S24 series
2. New ways to search in 2024
3. Circle (or highlight or scribble) to Search
4. Chrome is getting 3 new generative AI features
5. New Pixel features for a minty fresh start to the year

February

February brought a new chapter of our Gemini era, including the debut of Gemini 1.5; the news that Bard was becoming Gemini; the launch of Gemini Advanced; and more. We also announced new generative AI tools in Labs and tech to help developers and researchers build AI responsibly. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. Our next-generation model: Gemini 1.5
2. Bard becomes Gemini: Try Ultra 1.0 and a new mobile app today
3. The next chapter of our Gemini era
4. Gemma: Introducing new state-of-the-art open models
5. Try ImageFX and MusicFX, our newest generative AI tools in Labs

March

Health took center stage in March, with our annual Google Health Check Up event to show how AI is helping us connect people to health information and insights that matter to them. Stories about how we’re using AI for good also made the top-news cut, along with AI-based travel tools coverage as readers looked toward summer. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. Our progress on generative AI in health
2. How we’re using AI to connect people to health information
3. 6 ways to travel smarter this summer using Google tools
4. How we are using AI for reliable flood forecasting at a global scale
5. 21 nonprofits join our first generative AI accelerator

April

Spring showers bring…generative AI? Many of April’s top stories focused on how helpful generative AI can be to different groups of people, including developers, business owners, advertisers and Google Photos users. It was also a big month for AI skills-building, thanks to our AI Opportunity Fund and AI Essentials course. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. AI editing tools are coming to all Google Photos users
2. Cloud Next 2024: More momentum with generative AI
3. Grow with Google launches new AI Essentials course to help everyone learn to use AI
4. Enhance visual storytelling in Demand Gen with generative AI
5. Our newest investments in infrastructure and AI skills

May

May is synonymous with Google I/O around these parts, so it’s no wonder that much of the month’s top news was from our annual developer conference. At this year’s event, we shared how we’re building more helpful products and features with AI. But even amid all the I/O chatter, Googlers were working on other launches, like that of our AlphaFold 3 model, which holds big promise for science and medicine. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. Google I/O 2024: An I/O for a new generation
2. Generative AI in Search: Let Google do the searching for you
3. 100 things we announced at I/O 2024
4. Ask Photos: A new way to search your photos with Gemini
5. AlphaFold 3 predicts the structure and interactions of all of life’s molecules

June

In June, much of our AI news emphasized how this technology can help people in ways big and small. Stories covered both land (how Google Translate is helping people connect with one another all around the world, even if they don’t speak the same language) and sea (how a first-of-its-kind global map of ocean infrastructure is creating a better understanding of things like biodiversity). Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. 110 new languages are coming to Google Translate
2. Gemma 2 is now available to researchers and developers
3. NotebookLM goes global with Slides support and better ways to fact-check
4. New AI tools for Google Workspace for Education
5. Mapping human activity at sea with AI

July

July was one of those months that makes clear how many things Googlers are working on at once with major announcements for Gemini, Google AI features on Samsung devices, our focus on secure AI and our Olympics partnership with Team USA and NBCUniversal. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. 4 Google updates coming to Samsung devices
2. Gemini’s big upgrade: Faster responses with 1.5 Flash, expanded access and more
3. 4 ways Google will show up in NBCUniversal’s Olympic Games Paris 2024 coverage
4. Introducing the Coalition for Secure AI (CoSAI) and founding member organizations
5. 3 things parents and students told us about how generative AI can support learning

August

August was a key moment for Google hardware, thanks to our Made by Google event, along with our Nest Learning Thermostat and Google TV Streamer releases. But software was in the mix, too — we’re looking at you, Chrome, Android and Gemini. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. The new Pixel 9 phones bring you the best of Google AI
2. Gemini makes your mobile device a powerful AI assistant
3. Your smart home is getting smarter, with help from Gemini
4. 3 new Chrome AI features for even more helpful browsing
5. Android is reimagining your phone with Gemini

September

Then came another month that underscored our mission to make AI helpful for everyone. Highlights included the launch of Audio Overviews in NotebookLM; the news of a new satellite constellation designed to detect wildfires more quickly; and tips on using Gemini features in Gmail. But that wasn’t all! Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. NotebookLM now lets you listen to a conversation about your sources
2. A breakthrough in wildfire detection: How a new constellation of satellites can detect smaller wildfires earlier
3. Customers are putting Gemini to work
4. How to use Gemini in Gmail to manage your inbox like a pro
5. 5 new Android features to help you explore, search for music and more

October

October saw a slate of additional AI updates across products including Pixel, NotebookLM, Search and Shopping. Plus, we announced updates to the Search ads experiences at Google Marketing Live — helping advertisers use AI to reach their customers. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. October Pixel Drop: Helpful enhancements for your devices
2. New in NotebookLM: Customizing your Audio Overviews and introducing NotebookLM Business
3. Ask questions in new ways with AI in Search
4. Google Shopping’s getting a big transformation
5. New ways for marketers to reach customers with AI Overviews and Lens

November

This month was a time for both work and play, with news including how developers are using Gemini API and how chess-lovers can use AI to reimagine their sets. Plus, holiday prep was afoot with new updates to Google Lens and Shopping. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. 5 ways to explore chess during the 2024 World Chess Championship
2. The Gemini app is now available on iPhone
3. New ways to holiday shop with Google Lens, Maps and more
4. How developers are using Gemini API
5. Our Machine Learning Crash Course goes in depth on generative AI

December

We celebrated the one-year anniversary of our Gemini era by introducing our next, agentic era in AI — brought to life by our newest, most capable model, Gemini 2.0. We also shared landmark quantum chip news, and a whole raft of new generative AI offerings in Android, Pixel, Gemini, and our developer platforms AI Studio and Vertex AI. It’s certainly been a December to remember. Here were some of the top Google AI news stories of the month:

1. Introducing Gemini 2.0: our new AI model for the agentic era
2. Meet Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chip
3. Android XR: The Gemini era comes to headsets and glasses
4. Try Deep Research and our new experimental model in Gemini, your AI assistant
5. December Pixel Drop: New features for your Pixel phone, Tablet and more

There you have it! Twelve months of top Google AI news in a flash. And the best part: Teams at Google are hard at work to keep the momentum going in 2025.