7 pieces of AI news we announced in October

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. Teams across Google are working on ways to unlock AI’s benefits in fields as wide-ranging as healthcare, crisis response and education. To keep you posted on our progress, we're doing a regular roundup of Google's most recent AI news across products, research, and more. Here’s a look back at just some of our AI announcements from October.

We gave Google Maps its biggest AI update ever. For nearly 20 years, Google Maps has transformed the way we navigate and explore. Today, thanks to its biggest AI update ever, Maps is getting even more helpful. Now, you’ll be able to ask Maps more complex queries, like “things to do with friends” to get answers curated with Gemini, quick answers to questions about a place — in addition to helpful review summaries when you don’t have time to read through each one. Plus, to help take the stress out of driving, we added new features to help you with every step of your drive — like the ability to explore along your route before you head out. The latest AI update in Maps means that whether you’re traveling across town or around the world, you can get the most up-to-date information possible, when you need it. Make sure to also check out the new updates we’re making to Waze, Google Earth and our developer products.

An expert Googler shared tips for using NotebookLM. Steven Johnson is a popular author who often writes on the intersection of science, technology and the human experience. In his role at Google, he’s also helped launch NotebookLM — the product gaining a lot of attention for helping people synthesize large volumes of information and quickly understand complex ideas. You can upload PDFs, Google Docs, websites, YouTube videos and more to NotebookLM to glean new insights and get deeper dives on new topics, which Steven details (along with other helpful tips) in his post.

Google Shopping rolled out new AI to help you pick the right product for you. The new Google Shopping — which is available in the U.S. to start — uses AI to help take the guesswork out of finding the right products. For example, when researching a product, an AI-generated brief will give you more details about the most important things to know before buying. And, as you browse the results, you will see AI-generated briefs about what to consider before making a purchase, plus the products that may (or may not) be a good fit for your needs. The Google Shopping home page will also now feature a feed of product recommendations, videos and a personalized deal page — so you can find products you want at the lowest price.

Search got a major AI update, expanding the types of questions people can ask. AI has already helped us reimagine Google Search, so people can ask questions in new ways — whether typing a query, searching with a camera or even humming a tune. In October, we added even more updates, including helping people to identify songs in Circle to Search, shop for what they see and search with video. For example, when people visit the aquarium they can open Lens in the Google app and hold down the shutter button to record the fish while asking aloud, “why are they swimming together?” — AI will make sense of the video and produce an AI Overview, along with helpful resources from across the web. The world is in constant motion, and Search can now help people understand it, as it is.

We announced that all Chromebooks, including two new models, will come with built-in AI. All Chromebooks will now come with the Gemini app, and Chromebook Plus laptops include new Google AI productivity tools like Live Translate, Help me write, the Recorder app and Welcome Recap, which helps people pick right back up where they left off when logging into a Chromebook. The new Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus is the thinnest and lightest Chromebook Plus, and features a new Quick Insert key to access AI features; and Lenovo’s latest Chromebook Duet 11” is compact, durable and converts between tablet and desktop mode in seconds.

We announced new grants for AI training at our annual Google Public Sector Summit. AI is poised to help the U.S. public sector bolster cybersecurity, enhance data analysis and find new ways to improve citizen services. To train the U.S. government workforce in responsible AI, Google.org announced $15 million in new training grants for two leading public sector organizations, the Partnership for Public Service and InnovateUS. Those grants will help cultivate AI leadership and talent within the federal government, and increase access to AI training for more than 100,000 public sector workers across more than 30 states.

The Nobel Prize was awarded to three Google AI pioneers for advancing the science of AI in a way that benefits all people. Google alum Geoff Hinton received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his pioneering work in neural networks. And Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and John Jumper received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work with AlphaFold 2, which predicted the structures for nearly all proteins known to science. It’s been used by more than 2 million researchers around the world, accelerating scientific discovery in important areas like malaria vaccines, cancer treatments, and more.