Google Replaces Assistant with Gemini in New $99.99 Home Speaker

Google DeepMind introduced Gemini Robotics 2, a suite of AI models designed to give robots whole-body control, dexterous manipulation, and multi-robot collaboration capabilities. The system includes three models: a vision-language-action model for motor control, an embodied reasoning model for planning and communication, and an on-device model optimized for fast adaptation to new robot bodies. Early-access partners can now deploy these models on humanoid and bi-arm robots to perform complex, multi-step tasks in unstructured environments.

Google's AI Overviews now appear in 43% of searches, marking a significant shift in how users encounter information online. The feature, which provides AI-generated answers directly in search results, has achieved rapid adoption since its introduction. This trend reflects a broader move toward AI-mediated information discovery rather than traditional link-based search results.

Google is developing a custom server chip called 'Frozen v2' that would embed its Gemini AI model architecture directly into hardware to improve inference efficiency. The chip is projected to be 6 to 10 times more efficient than Google's current homegrown AI chips when measured by tokens served per unit of power. The project addresses a critical compute capacity shortage that has strained Google Cloud's ability to serve external customers.

Google has added personalized AI avatars to its Vids product, enabling users to create videos featuring digital versions of themselves. The feature integrates with Gemini Omni-powered tools that generate and edit videos from text prompts and reference images. This expands Google's video creation capabilities beyond text-to-video generation to include avatar-based personalization.