How Sundar Pichai is rethinking Google for the AI era

Decoder with Nilay Patel

May 26

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Shownote

Connecting with Google CEO Sundar Pichai at I/O every year is one of my favorite Decoder traditions. This was our fifth year doing it, and there’s always a whole slew of new things to talk about. This year, in addition to the news, we talked about Google Zero; picking fights with YouTube creators and publishers; and what being at “the foothills of the singularity" even means. Read the full interview transcript on The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/podcast/936445/sundar-pichai-ai-search-google-zero-youtube-web]. Links: * If Google can’t make AI agents useful, maybe no one can | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/934478/if-google-cant-make-ai-agents-useful-maybe-no-one-can] * The future of Google is a search box that does everything | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/tech/934217/google-search-box-does-everything-ai-io-2026] * Large language mistake | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/827820/large-language-models-ai-intelligence-neuroscience-problems] * You can now remix other people’s YouTube Shorts with AI | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/tech/934704/google-gemini-omni-youtub-shorts-remix-ai] * Condé Nast calls Google Zero | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/google/929641/conde-nast-calls-google-zero] * Demis Hassabis said this may be the ‘foothills of the singularity’ | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/tech/934260/google-io-ai-singularity-demis-hassabis] * Google I/O 2026: All the news and announcements | The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/tech/932454/google-io-2026-news-announcements] Subscribe to The Verge [https://www.theverge.com/subscribe] to access the ad-free version of Decoder! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Kabir Chopra. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Highlights

In this episode of Decoder, Nilay Patel sits down with Google CEO Sundar Pichai at Google I/O for their annual conversation. They dive into Google's sweeping AI strategy, the restructuring of the company around AI, and the broader implications of AI on search, the web, and society. Pichai addresses concerns about 'Google Zero,' the future of publishers, and the path to AGI, offering a candid look at the challenges and opportunities ahead.