Google's generative artificial intelligence (AI) model "Gemini" is expanding its presence on the global stage, from identifying the causes of antibiotic resistance to talks over integration with Apple's Siri. Leveraging its massive reasoning capability and multimodal performance, it is challenging OpenAI's ChatGPT in the enterprise (B2B) market, but in Korea its recognition is low and its user base lags far behind competing services.
According to a study published on the 12th in the international journal Cell, researchers at Imperial College London recently used Google's "AI co-scientist" platform in the process of identifying the mechanism of "microbial piracy," a key factor driving antibiotic resistance. Based on Gemini 2.0, the system produced hypotheses in just a few days that human researchers would have had to test for years, opening the door to understanding antibiotic resistance and developing rapid diagnostic technologies. The same platform also helped a Stanford University team identify a candidate drug for treating liver fibrosis.
These research results are forming a foundation for Gemini to secure competitiveness in corporate settings as well. The latest version, Gemini 2.5 Pro, can read and analyze massive datasets equivalent to hundreds of books at once. As a result, it can process complex code, regulatory documents, and research materials in one go, and its "multimodal" capability to handle not only text but also images, video, and audio is a strength. It is also directly linked through consolidation to Workspace services such as Gmail, Google Docs, and Meet, boosting work productivity with email drafting, document summarization, and meeting minutes preparation.
Having expanded its foothold as a productivity tool for corporations, Gemini is now drawing even competitors as customers. In particular, Apple, its biggest rival in the mobile market, is reportedly in talks to adopt Gemini for the next Siri upgrade. It is unusual for Apple, which has stuck to in-house development, to consider an external AI model. As of Apr., Gemini's global MAU (monthly active users) surpassed 350 million.
However, Gemini's report card in the domestic market is lackluster. According to app analytics firm Mobile Index, the app's domestic monthly active users (MAU) last month totaled 88,715. During the same period, the ChatGPT app reached 12 million and achieved broad popular adoption. Korea ranks second in the world after the United States in the number of ChatGPT paid subscribers.
Awareness differs markedly as well. In a survey conducted by Embrain Trend Monitor in early Sep. of 1,000 men and women ages 15 to 64 nationwide, awareness of generative AI services ranked as follows: ChatGPT (97.0%), Wrtn (68.4%), DeepSeek (61.0%), and Gemini (56.7%). Notably, the domestic service Wrtn recorded higher awareness than Gemini across all age groups. Willingness to use was high for both ChatGPT (88.5%) and Gemini (80.3%), but the gap in brand presence was clear.
Google Korea is ramping up domestic advertising and marketing to make up for this. In a new campaign run through INNOCEAN, Gemini is defined as a college student's "all-day assistant," showcasing various use cases such as academics, content creation, and quizzes. It hired the Gen Z artist group "All Day Project" and comedian Lee Su-ji's alter ego "Haemboogi" as advertising models, and Gemini's video generation feature "Veo3" was used in the actual ad production. In addition, Google is running a promotion offering the Gemini Pro plan, worth 29,000 won per month, free for one year to college students in Korea. The industry views this strategy as a groundwork for securing potential future customers over the long term.
An AI industry official said, "Even though Gemini is a latecomer, it is regarded as better than GPT in complex data analysis and reasoning," while noting, "However, since there is no overwhelming performance gap, the AI that is more familiar to the public and has stronger brand trust will ultimately have the advantage in the B2B market as well."