Google Gemini Upgrades: Key AI Features Revealed at I/O

Google’s recent Gemini upgrades introduce a range of powerful new features designed to enhance both user experience and marketing possibilities. One of the major developments is the integration of Gemini directly into the Chrome browser, which allows for smoother and more interactive search experiences. This update means users can access Gemini’s AI capabilities more easily during their browsing sessions, making it a valuable tool for marketers looking to engage audiences in new ways.

In addition to browser integration, the Gemini 2.5 models have received significant performance improvements, enabling faster and more accurate AI responses. These upgrades make Gemini smarter and more efficient in understanding and processing complex queries, which could greatly benefit digital marketing strategies by providing better insights and content recommendations.

Another notable enhancement is the expansion of Gemini Live, which now supports camera and screen sharing on both Android and iOS devices. This feature allows users to interact with visual content in real time, opening up fresh opportunities for immersive advertising, live demonstrations, and customer engagement. Overall, these Gemini upgrades signal a major step forward in how AI can be leveraged across marketing and search platforms, offering marketers new tools to connect with their audience more effectively.

At the recent Google I/O event, Google revealed updates to its Gemini AI platform that promise to change how search and marketing professionals work with data and digital tools.

These improvements centre on better reasoning abilities, smoother user interactions, and streamlined workflows, offering a more effective and intuitive experience.

Gemini 2.5 Models Get Performance Upgrades

Google has highlighted that its Gemini 2.5 Pro model tops the WebDev Arena leaderboard, achieving an impressive ELO score of 1420. It also ranks first across all categories on the LMArena leaderboard, which assesses human preferences for AI models.

This model boasts a one-million-token context window, allowing it to handle large content inputs effectively, including both extensive text analysis and video comprehension.

At the same time, Gemini 2.5 Flash has received updates to improve performance in areas such as reasoning, multimodality, coding, and long context processing.

Google states that this new version uses 20-30% fewer tokens compared to earlier releases. The updated Flash model is currently available in the Gemini app and is expected to be broadly accessible for production use in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI by early June.

Gemini Live: New Camera and Screen Sharing Capabilities

The expanded Gemini Live feature marks an important enhancement to the Gemini ecosystem and is now accessible on both Android and iOS devices.

Google notes that conversations using Gemini Live tend to be five times longer than those conducted through text alone.

This updated version introduces camera and screen sharing functions, enabling users to point their phones at objects for instant visual support.

Additionally, it integrates with Google Maps, Calendar, Tasks, and Keep, with these connections rolling out in the coming weeks.

Users can also create calendar events directly from their conversations, making the experience more seamless.

These improvements allow marketers to showcase products, resolve problems, and plan campaigns through more natural, AI-supported interactions.

Deep Think: Enhanced Reasoning for Complex Problems

The experimental “Deep Think” mode for Gemini 2.5 Pro introduces advanced research methods that allow the model to evaluate multiple possible solutions before providing a response.

Google is currently offering Deep Think access to trusted testers via the Gemini API, aiming to collect feedback before making the feature more widely available.

New Developer Tools for Marketing Applications

Google has introduced several improvements aimed at enhancing the developer experience with Gemini.

One of these is Thought Summaries, which will be available on both Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash. This feature provides structured summaries of the models’ reasoning process within the Gemini API and Vertex AI.

Another update is the expansion of Thinking Budgets to 2.5 Pro. This allows developers to control token usage during the model’s reasoning phase before generating a response, helping to manage both costs and performance.

Additionally, native support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) has been added to the Gemini API. This enables easier integration with various open-source tools, broadening the platform’s compatibility.

Gemini in Chrome & New Subscription Plans

Google is integrating Gemini directly into the Chrome browser, with the rollout currently available to Google AI subscribers in the U.S. This new feature enables users to ask questions about the content they are viewing on websites, enhancing the browsing experience.

In addition, Google has introduced two subscription plans: Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra. The Ultra plan is priced at $249.99 per month and includes a 50% discount for the first three months for new subscribers. This premium option offers access to Google’s most advanced AI models, higher usage limits, and early access to experimental AI features.

Looking Ahead

The latest updates to Gemini represent significant progress in AI technology that marketers can incorporate into their data analysis processes.

As these new features become available over the coming months, SEO and marketing teams will have the opportunity to evaluate how these tools align with their existing strategies and technical needs.

With AI being integrated into Chrome and conversational capabilities improving, it shows a clear shift in how consumers interact with digital content. This is a development that search and marketing professionals should keep a close eye on.

These updates to Gemini signify notable advancements in AI that marketers can integrate into their analytical workflows.

As these features roll out in the coming months, SEO and marketing teams can assess how these tools fit with their current strategies and technical requirements.

The incorporation of AI into Chrome and the upgraded conversational abilities indicate ongoing evolution in how consumers engage with digital content, a trend that search and marketing professionals must monitor closely.