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Feb 04, 2026
Here’s a recap of our biggest AI updates from January, including Personal Intelligence in the Gemini app and AI Mode, Gmail’s AI upgrade, free SAT prep in Gemini and a new suite of AI tools to help retailers seize the AI opportunity.
In January Google enhanced its AI capabilities across various products. You can now use Personal Intelligence in Gemini to connect Google apps for personalized experiences. Also, AI tools are now available in Gmail and Chrome, plus new learning tools for students.
- This article recaps Google’s AI news from January, highlighting advancements in personal intelligence and various applications.
- Gemini app now connects to Google apps, offering personalized help; it’s opt-in and available in beta.
- Gmail gets AI tools like “Help me write” for free; paid subscribers get advanced features like Proofread.
- Chrome’s new features, powered by Gemini 3, include “auto browse” for complex tasks and image transformation.
- Google introduced AI learning tools with Khan Academy and Oxford, plus practice tests in the Gemini app.
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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.
Here’s a look back at some of our AI announcements from January.
In January, we moved AI toward a new era of Personal Intelligence: making products like Search, Chrome and the Gemini app more proactive than ever. Whether it’s Chrome’s “auto browse” handling your complex chores or Gmail surfacing what matters most, these new personalization features are focused on anticipating your needs, understanding your context and helping you get things done. It’s part of our commitment to keep evolving Gemini to meet your needs.
We announced Personal Intelligence in the Gemini app. You can now securely connect your Google apps such as Gmail, Google Photos, YouTube and Search to make Gemini uniquely helpful. Personal Intelligence is now available as a beta in the U.S., and we’ll be bringing it to more countries soon. It’s opt-in, so you choose whether to turn it on and can specify which apps you do and don’t want it to work with.
We brought Personal Intelligence to AI Mode in Search. Personal Intelligence rolled out in AI Mode, making Search even more uniquely yours. Starting with Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, you can securely opt-in and connect AI Mode to apps like Gmail and Google Photos for responses that are tailored just for you, including recommendations for things like shopping and travel.
We introduced the next evolution of AI in Gmail, built for the Gemini era. AI tools like Help me write, AI Overviews and suggested replies with personalization are now available in Gmail at no cost. Google One AI Ultra and Pro subscribers have access to new features like AI Overviews in Gmail search and Proofread, for advanced grammar, tone and style checks. And finally — for select trusted testers — we introduced AI Inbox, a new view in Gmail that helps to cut through the noise of your inbox so you can see what’s most important.
We made Chrome even more intelligent and helpful with Gemini 3. Chrome’s major new features, built on Gemini 3, include the groundbreaking auto browse feature that handles complex, multi-step chores — like booking travel or scheduling appointments — entirely on your behalf. Plus, Chrome now provides the ability to use Nano Banana to transform images on the web. And a new side panel reimagines multitasking by keeping your favorite Google apps at your fingertips. This update transforms Chrome from a window to the web into a high-powered productivity partner.
We announced our latest learning and education tools. At the British Educational Training and Technology (BETT) conference in London, we announced new partnerships with Khan Academy to power a suite of literacy tools with Gemini, and with Oxford University to make Gemini and NotebookLM available to all students and faculty. We also unveiled new updates to Google Classroom, ChromeOS and new security and AI detection features to help educational organizations protect their data.
We announced new practice tests in the Gemini app. Partnerships with the Princeton Review, Careers360 and Physics Wallah bring free full-length SAT and JEE Main prep to the Gemini app. Students get immediate feedback on their performance and can ask Gemini to explain the answers, and create a customized study plan.
We made premium Google AI features available to more educators and students. We made select Gemini in Workspace features available in our Google Workspace for Education core editions at no additional cost. That means significantly more students and educators now have access to Gemini across the apps they use every day, like Docs, Slides and more. Plus, Google Workspace Studio launched as a core service for designing and sharing AI agents.
We added a new Search experience to even more seamlessly explore information. Search continues to evolve to make it effortless to find whatever is on your mind, no matter how complex the question. Gemini 3 is the new default model for AI Overviews globally, so you get a best-in-class AI response right on the search results page, for questions where it’s helpful. Plus, now you can easily ask a follow-up question right from an AI Overview, and jump into a conversational back and forth with AI Mode.
We introduced Agentic Vision in Gemini 3 Flash. Most AI models process an image in a single, static snapshot. If a detail is too small or blurry in one glance, AI makes an educated guess, which is how “hallucinations” often happen. Now, Agentic Vision turns Gemini 3 Flash from a passive observer into an active investigator. Instead of just “looking,” the model now “explores” — delivering a consistent quality boost across most vision benchmarks. Agentic Vision is available via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, and it’s rolling out in the Gemini app.
We released updates to Veo 3.1 to give you more consistency, creativity and control. Our latest updates help everyone from casual storytellers to professional filmmakers produce creative, high-quality, mobile-first videos. Videos have richer dialogue and it comes with native vertical outputs for platforms like YouTube Shorts, along with upscaling to 1080p or 4K resolution.
We previewed “Dear Upstairs Neighbors” at the Sundance Film Festival. Created by a Google DeepMind team of animators and researchers using AI, the short film is the story of a young woman kept awake by her exceedingly noisy neighbors, and blends animation with abstract expressionism using video-to-video techniques.
We opened access to our AI world model Genie 3. Project Genie — our experimental research prototype — is now open to Google AI Ultra subscribers (18+) in the U.S. Powered by Genie 3, it empowers users to create, explore and remix their own interactive worlds. Since its preview debut in August, the Genie 3 general-purpose world model has already enabled testers to uncover entirely new ways to design and explore digital environments.
We launched two experimental travel features in the Google Arts & Culture app. Beyond simple travel logistics, City Guides and Comic Postcards are designed to spark your imagination. The City Guide pilot curates landmarks and live events tailored to your interests and schedule, while the new Comic Postcards use generative AI to place you directly inside your own illustrated adventure.
We shared new AI tech and tools for retailers at the National Retail Federation 2026. During his keynote at the National Retail Federation 2026, our CEO Sundar Pichai discussed the AI platform shift and unveiled a suite of new tools to help retailers seize the opportunity, most notably the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). This new open standard for agentic commerce supports seamless shopping journeys from discovery to purchase, and will enable checkout directly within AI Mode in Search and the Gemini app. Alongside the launch of Gemini Enterprise, Sundar also announced that Wing and Walmart are expanding drone delivery to reach over 40 million Americans. As Sundar put it, “Our goal is to build a future of retail where the opportunity space expands for everyone.”
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