The latest AI news we announced in December – Google Blog

Dec 20, 2024
Here’s a recap of some of our biggest AI updates from December, including the release of Gemini 2.0, Google DeepMind’s state-of-the-art weather prediction model GenCast, and Willow — our quantum chip that delivers a major breakthrough in quantum computing.

Google made significant strides in AI in December, releasing Gemini 2.0, their most capable model yet, and introducing new AI video and image generation models, Veo 2 and Imagen 3. They also upgraded NotebookLM, added AI features to Android and Pixel, and shared five AI trends for businesses in 2025. Google DeepMind launched GenCast, a new AI weather model that improves predictions, and Google unveiled Willow, their state-of-the-art quantum chip.

• Google’s December AI announcements highlight advancements in models, products, and research.
• Gemini 2.0, Google’s most capable model yet, features agentic capabilities for developers, enterprises, and individuals.
• New AI video and image generation models, Veo 2 and Imagen 3, achieve state-of-the-art results in head-to-head comparisons.
• Google added AI features to Android and Pixel, including easier photo navigation, enhanced Call Screen, and improved Google Drive scans.
• Google DeepMind launched GenCast, an AI weather model that improves predictions and helps safeguard lives and infrastructure.

Google made a bunch of cool AI updates in December! They released a new super smart AI called Gemini 2.0, which can help people and businesses do things better. They also made their video and image making tools even better, so you can create super realistic videos and pictures. They added some neat AI features to Android and Pixel phones, like making it easier to find photos and understand phone calls. And they even made a new AI weather model that can predict the weather more accurately, which can help people stay safe.

In December’s news, Google’s AI did shine,
With Gemini 2.0, a model so fine,
For developers, enterprises, and all,
It brings agentic power, standing tall.
Veo 2 and Imagen 3, with skills so keen,
Create videos and images, a wondrous scene,
While NotebookLM, with features new,
Enhances podcasts, a delight for you.
Android and Pixel, with AI’s embrace,
Improve our lives, in every space,
From weather forecasts to quantum leaps,
Google’s AI, our future, it keeps.
For more than 20 years, we’ve invested in machine learning and AI research, tools and infrastructure to build products that make everyday life better for more people. 2024 has been another big year for AI, and we ended on a high note with updates across AI models, consumer products, and research and science.
Here’s a look back at just some of our AI announcements from December. And if you’re a fan of listening to learn, you can also check out a NotebookLM Audio Overview ¹ recap of our December news, generated based on a variety of sources including YouTube videos and Keyword posts. (Audio Overviews are still experimental, so this recap isn't perfect and may have some audio glitches.)
Your browser does not support the audio element.
A discussion of "The latest AI news we announced in December." Audio Overview generated by NotebookLM.
The agentic era of AI is here. Over the past year, we’ve been investing in developing more agentic models — which can understand more about the environment around you and take action on your behalf with your supervision. This month we released Gemini 2.0, our most capable model yet, with agentic capabilities for developers, enterprises and people everywhere. We also introduced a range of experimental models for developers to explore, including gemini-exp-1206 in AI Studio and Gemini Advanced, and an experimental “thinking” version of Gemini 2.0.
These advancements bring us closer to our vision for a universal AI assistant, to make information even more accessible for everyone. Because information is at the core of human progress — and we’ll continue to push the frontiers of AI to organize that information, and make it truly useful for all.
We released our latest AI video and image generation models — Veo 2 and Imagen 3. These newest model versions achieved state-of-the-art results against leading models in head-to-head comparisons judged by human raters. Veo 2, in particular, now has a better understanding of real-world physics — so it can produce incredibly high-quality videos, with improved detail and realism overall. These models are now available in VideoFX, ImageFX and our newest Labs experiment, Whisk.
We gave NotebookLM a major upgrade, including a new look, new features like the ability to “join” Audio Overviews to speak to the hosts, and a premium version, NotebookLM Plus. And fans of Spotify Wrapped got a new treat with their first-ever 2024 Spotify Wrapped AI podcast, built with NotebookLM.
We added new AI features to Android and Pixel. We dropped tons of new AI-powered features for Android and Pixel this December — including easier photo navigation and sharing, updates to make Call Screen easier, enhanced scans of docs in Google Drive and audio captions that capture the emotion and intensity of how someone is speaking.
We shared five AI trends for businesses in 2025. Our prediction? AI is poised to improve enterprise security, enterprise searches and customer experiences, and businesses of all sizes will be able to use AI agents to simplify complex tasks.
Speaking of: We also introduced a new space for AI agents in Google Cloud. Google Agentspace will help companies increase their employees’ productivity by bringing together AI agents, Gemini’s advanced reasoning, Google-quality search, and enterprise data in one place. Plus, Cloud announced that Veo and Imagen 3 are available for businesses on Vertex AI.
Google DeepMind launched a new AI weather model, GenCast, that improves predictions. GenCast dramatically advances the field of predicting weather uncertainties and risks, delivering faster, more accurate forecasts up to 15 days ahead. More accurate forecasts of extreme weather can help officials safeguard lives and avert damage to important infrastructure — so we’ve made GenCast an open model, to foster wider collaboration and help accelerate research and development in the weather and climate community.
We unveiled Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chip. Willow represents a major breakthrough in quantum computing. It cracks a key challenge in quantum error correction that the field has pursued for almost 30 years, while also performing a benchmark computation in 5 minutes that would take one of the world’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years (which is greater than the age of the universe). Advanced AI may significantly benefit from access to quantum computing — and as we’ve now reached an exciting milestone in the Gemini era this month, we’re looking forward to continuing to explore the possibilities of these transformational technologies.
You can read the transcript at this link.
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