When it comes to AI, OpenAI has become the go-to name, dominating the market in the same way Google does with search. ChatGPT was the first AI chatbot to break through to the masses and it has kept its lead for years, now reaching over 800 million weekly users. And yet, there is a big competitor right behind them.
Google has seen exponential growth in the AI world. Gemini, the company’s branch of AI technology, has been topping leaderboards and producing new features at a rapid pace. With the latest Gemini 3 update now rumored to be launching very soon, Gemini is in a position right now to take over the AI world. So what makes Gemini so good, and why should OpenAI be worried?
Benchmark supreme
Back in March, Google unveiled Gemini 2.5 Pro. This was the latest update to the system, focusing on making Gemini more intelligent than ever. Since that update, Google has introduced small but important updates, keeping the Gemini system near the top of leaderboards for most categories.
Geminii is strong when it comes to coding, mathematical problems, logic, and emotional reasoning, and even came out on top when scored against 26 other AI models in a blind ranking of which tool felt best to use.
Since the release of Gemini 2.5 Pro, Anthropic’s Claude, Grok, and OpenAI have all released large updates to their models. Despite this, Gemini has continued to perform at the same level in a variety of tests.
With Gemini 3 just around the corner, Google has the potential to skyrocket ahead of the competition, bringing major improvements to its coding ability, contextual understanding, and even its AI image and video generator.
An ecosystem to envy
It is not just a case of benchmarking and AI smarts that give Gemini an edge. Google sits in a unique position as a company in this market. Companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and xAI all have the AI smarts and capable tools, but they lack the products.
Google, on the other hand, has an entire ecosystem of products to blend Gemini into. There's millions of the best Android phones where Gemini is the default AI assistant, as well as tools like NotebookLM, the entire Google Drive system, and Google Home devices. Oh, and don't forget —the largest search engine in the world.
For months now, Google has been finding ways to blend Gemini into all of its different products, creating intelligent AI features that both work in each of its devices and products, but also allow you to easily cross over between each of them.
By doing this, Google has done what no tech company has effectively managed to do so far by bridging the gap between AI and devices.
Apple has a huge selection of products, spanning everything from smartphones and headphones to laptops, but it haven’t managed to make a dent in the AI world. Apple Intelligence right now looks weak in comparison to the likes of Gemini and GPT.
Gemini is coming to wearable devices, too, starting with the Galaxy XR headset. But it's also going to power a new wave of smart glasses powered by Android XR. Warby Parker and Gentle Monster have already signed up as partners. So Google will have a direct competitor to the Meta Ray-Ban Display.
However, we’re beginning to see companies closing in from both sides. OpenAI is developing its own device, and companies like Apple are slowly seeing improvements in the quality of their AI systems. Google just has a head start.
Why Google can win the AI race
There is often talk of an ‘AI race’ with all of these large AI companies fighting each other for the top spot. What is clear is that Google’s Gemini is sprinting towards first place.
The company holds a unique composition of AI technology, a robust ecosystem of products and devices, and the funds to innovate, not to mention the overwhelming support that Google gets from its search engine.
Of course, Google isn’t exactly free of fierce competition. AI companies and tech giants alike are moving at similar speeds, Google just happens to have a pretty spectacular advantage in this space.
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