Sundar Pichai, Google Chief Executive Officer (CEO), emphasized that 2025 will be an important year for Google and that preparations must be made.
According to U.S. economic media CNBC on the 30th (local time), CEO Pichai emphasized during the '2025 Strategy Meeting' held last week that "building a new major business is the top priority" and noted that "we must prepare for intensified competition, regulatory issues, and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI)."
CNBC reported that Google executives expect next year's Gemini app users to exceed 500 million. CEO Pichai stated, "There has been strong momentum around the Gemini app in recent months," adding that "expanding Gemini will be our top focus next year."
He said, "Globally, we are well aware that we are being scrutinized," explaining that "this is due to our scale and success."
CEO Pichai said, "This scrutiny is part of a broader trend of technology having a significant impact on society," and added, "Therefore, we must remain steadfast and focused at this moment."
Google has demonstrated strong revenue growth in areas like search advertising and cloud services this year, but competition has intensified in core markets, and regulations have become stricter than ever.
Google is facing the crisis of having to divest its web browser Chrome after losing the antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in August in the search market. Separately, it is awaiting a ruling on potential violations of antitrust laws related to blocking competition through acquisitions of related corporations in the online advertising market.
British competition authorities have also tentatively determined that Google's advertising technology practices have a negative impact on competition in the U.K.
Google's search business still maintains an overwhelming market share. However, new competitors have emerged. OpenAI is leading the AI wave with ChatGPT, launched at the end of 2022. Recently, it has also released a search engine, posing a threat to Google. The startup Perplexity is also entering the AI-based search service market.
He stated, "Historically, it is not always necessary to be first, but products must be of the highest level," adding that "2025 is the time for that."
CEO Pichai noted, "Google plans to unveil several AI features in the first half of next year," and added, "The performance of the Gemini app will significantly improve over the next 1 to 2 years."