Google was liable to shedding dominance till selling Josh Woodward

Josh Woodward is probably not a family title in Silicon Valley. However inside Google, everyone is aware of about him.

The 42-year-old Oklahoma native, who began at Google by means of a product administration internship in 2009, has spent the previous eight months working the Gemini app, the centerpiece of the search big’s synthetic intelligence technique. 

Heading into 2026, Woodward’s work is extra crucial than ever as Google rushes to maintain tempo with its high-powered AI rivals, particularly OpenAI, which kickstarted the generative AI increase with the launch of ChatGPT simply over three years in the past. 

As trade consultants forecast a shift in shopper conduct from conventional search to AI-powered apps, Google is combating to ensure customers keep inside its ecosystem, whether or not it is for chatbot companies, photographs, movies or on-line buying. Woodward helps to spearhead that effort whereas additionally retaining his job as head of Google Labs, dwelling to the corporate’s experimental AI initiatives.

Clay Bavor, former co-lead of Google Labs, mentioned Woodward’s capacity to maneuver quick, break down obstacles and execute “has landed him proper on the heart of an important work at Google.”

CNBC spoke with greater than a dozen individuals who have labored with Woodward about his evolving profile at Google, how he acquired there and the strain he faces to assist Google keep forward of the competitors with out shedding the belief of customers. A number of present and former colleagues, together with some who requested to not be named as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk to the press, emphasised how severely Woodward takes the societal considerations that include the facility of AI, and about Google’s position in shaping the long run.

In April, when Woodward was promoted to run the Gemini app, Google’s place in AI was tenuous. Alphabet shares plunged 18% within the first quarter, their worst efficiency for any interval since 2022, and considerations have been constructing that the corporate was shedding its long-held place because the web’s entrance door.

Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google DeepMind and the particular person thought of the highest AI government at Google, mentioned within the memo saying the transfer that Woodward can be targeted on the “subsequent evolution” of the app, in line with a Semafor report.

A serious turning level for Woodward’s group got here in late August, with the launch of picture generator Nano Banana, a Gemini function that lets customers mix a number of photographs collectively to create private digitized collectible figurines.

Inside days, Nano Banana had turn into so common it was overloading the corporate’s infrastructure, forcing Google to position short-term limits on utilization to ease the burden on its custom-designed chips known as tensor processing models.

“Our TPUs nearly melted,” mentioned Amin Vahdat, Google’s head of AI infrastructure, at a November all-hands assembly, in line with audio reviewed by CNBC.

By the top of September, the Gemini app surpassed 5 billion photographs and dethroned OpenAI’s ChatGPT on the high of Apple’s App Retailer. Nano Banana is now being rolled into different merchandise like Google Lens and Circle to Search.

Like its high rivals, Alphabet is pouring cash into AI infrastructure forward of an anticipated surge of latest enterprise. The corporate mentioned in its earnings report in October that capital expenditures for the total 12 months would attain between $91 billion and $93 billion, up from a previous forecast of $85 billion.

Wall Road’s temper on the corporate has reversed dramatically.

Regardless of a brutal first quarter, Alphabet’s inventory is up 62% this 12 months, outperforming all of its megacap friends together with Meta, which is up 13%.

Google mentioned in October that the Gemini app’s month-to-month energetic customers swelled to 650 million from 350 million in March. AI Overviews, which makes use of generative AI to summarize solutions to queries, has 2 billion month-to-month customers. OpenAI mentioned in October that ChatGPT hit 800 million customers per week.

Final month, Google launched Gemini 3, its newest mannequin, prompting pleasure throughout a lot of the tech sector.

“I’ve by no means had extra enjoyable than proper now,” Woodward instructed CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa in an interview quickly after the discharge. “It is partly the tempo. It is partly the talents these fashions give to individuals who can think about use instances and merchandise.”

Bavor, who’s now co-founder of AI agent startup Sierra, mentioned Woodward “was among the many very earliest individuals within the firm to see the potential in giant language fashions for constructing merchandise,” and lauded his capacity to “get his thoughts totally round a brand new expertise, to see round corners, to see the way it would possibly evolve and the way it is likely to be used.”

Woodward now faces the problem of not solely main two models inside Google but in addition discovering a stability between shifting quick to compete with AI rivals OpenAI and Anthropic and never shifting so quick that the search firm’s AI merchandise allow potential hurt. 

It is a urgent problem as AI quickly bleeds into each day life, extra slop populates social media, and an onslaught of AI-generated content material makes it tough for common shoppers to differentiate reality from fiction.

Woodward mentioned the theme in a podcast with companions from enterprise agency Sequoia in March, shortly earlier than taking up the Gemini app. AI-generated movies have been quickly getting extra superior, following the launch of OpenAI’s Sora in late 2024.

“Once I’m pondering of video, for instance, I am on the aspect of desirous to amplify human creativity, however there are these moments that occur in our valley right here the place issues change,” Woodward mentioned. “And so they change typically for generations. And so they can change for good or unhealthy.”

The Nano Banana Professional, launched in November, is so superior that its creations blur the strains between photographs which are clearly AI generated and people which are actual. The product has confronted criticism for depicting white girls surrounded by Black kids in responding to a immediate about humanitarian help in Africa. 

The depth of the job is hardly mirrored in Woodward’s persona. Colleagues harp on his disarming, goofy giggle that usually comes out mid-conversation and a friendliness stemming from his Midwestern upbringing.

Caesar Sengupta, who labored with Woodward on one in all his earliest initiatives at Google, mentioned, “I’ve by no means seen him get offended with anybody.” Sengupta, who’s now founding father of AI finance platform Arta, added that he used to tease Woodward, suggesting he can be Google’s subsequent CEO.

Woodward joined Google Labs in 2022. Bavor mentioned Woodward was his first selection to assist lead the hassle. 

One of many crew’s first breakout merchandise was referred to as Undertaking Tailwind, an AI pocket book that senior product supervisor Raiza Martin thought up in her 20% time, Google’s longstanding apply of letting workers dedicate someday every week to a mission of non-public curiosity.

Woodward helped shepherd the mission via a number of iterations to what morphed into NotebookLM, a well-liked product that analyze articles, PDFs or movies a consumer uploads, and supplies summaries or provides insights. Martin stayed on as a senior product supervisor till December 2024, when she left to co-found AI startup Huxe.

To assist construct NotebookLM, Woodward turned to an unsuspecting rent.

Steven Johnson had by no means had a full-time boss and had no connection to Google. Residing in New York, he’d spent his profession as much as that time as an creator, writing books in regards to the historical past of science and expertise.

Woodward was an admirer of his work.

“We hatched plans for him to affix us as a visiting scholar,” Bavor mentioned. 

Johnson joined on a part-time foundation in 2022. When he went full time in Could 2023, Woodward put him to work instantly.

With Google’s annual I/O developer convention every week away, Woodward had the concept to demo an audio function for what would turn into NotebookLM, viewing it as a approach to check the evolving capabilities of Google’s AI fashions. The group labored extra time to get it achieved in time for Woodward’s presentation.

Main as much as the occasion, Martin needed to gather consumer suggestions on communication app Discord though Google most well-liked that staffers use homegrown merchandise for such efforts. Woodward intervened to ensure Martin may maintain utilizing Discord, workers instructed CNBC.

“In true Google trend, everybody was like ‘What’s Discord?'” Martin mentioned in October 2024, on Lenny’s Podcast, hosted by tech investor and researcher Lenny Rachitsky. She recalled being requested by Google administration, “Why not use Google Meet, why not Google Teams, why not this and that, and I used to be like, ‘The server is the best way to go.'”

Johnson, who spoke with CNBC on a video name, mentioned Woodward’s strategy was, “Allow them to prepare dinner.” The discord server now has greater than 200,000 members, an organization spokesperson instructed CNBC.

At I/O, Woodward took the stage after Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s keynote. He opened by speaking about Undertaking Tailwind, an idea that “5 engineers at Google put collectively over the previous few weeks.”

“We have been creating this concept with authors like Steven Johnson and testing it at universities like College of Oklahoma, the place I went to high school,” mentioned Woodward, as he walked throughout the stage to a laptop computer. “You wish to see the way it works?”

He started his demo, importing paperwork into the app. In a aspect panel, Tailwind immediately started displaying key ideas and questions based mostly on the supplies in every doc. He hovered his mouse over a button that mentioned citations, saying “My favourite half is it reveals its work.”

NotebookLM was initially launched in July 2023, adopted by a broader rollout within the ensuing months. It was an instantaneous hit, and has since been up to date to incorporate podcasting, audio and video options.

Woodward graduated from Oklahoma with an economics diploma in 2006, after which headed to graduate faculty at College of Oxford within the U.Okay., the place he studied the results of the U.S. army and financial international help on democracy. 

He kicked off his profession at Google in 2009 with a product administration internship, and went on to carry a variety of product administration roles.

When Sengupta was tapped by CEO Sundar Pichai to begin the Subsequent Billion Customers (NBU) mission, an initiative to grasp customers in rising markets like India, Woodward was “one of many first individuals I requested to affix,” he instructed CNBC.

At NBU, Woodward wrote a weekly e-newsletter that was concise and thought-provoking, and have become so common that individuals would e mail the creator asking to be added to the e-newsletter, Sengupta mentioned.

Woodward nonetheless writes a e-newsletter — now it is quarterly — about issues of curiosity to him and what he is been studying. Woodward reads a lot that he is typically the primary particular person Google executives go to for e-book suggestions, colleagues mentioned.

He additionally assigns studying. Martin mentioned on the podcast final 12 months that Woodward had given her an article to learn that dissected whether or not customers ought to belief AI chatbots.

Certainly one of Woodward’s best-known attributes, workers mentioned, is his capacity to bypass Google’s large forms. He helped arrange a system known as “block,” the place employees can file a word in the event that they see a perceived roadblock, and a crew inside Labs will deal with it, they mentioned. When NotebookLM launched, the product wanted extra TPUs, and Woodward was capable of get them.

“It has been very cool that we have now somebody who can maintain the annoying stuff, and we’re capable of simply get to the customers,” mentioned Usama Bin Shafqat, a Google Labs software program engineer.

Woodward additionally got here up with a course of known as “Papercuts” to handle minor points that create friction in a specific product. In October, Woodward posted on X, “Papercut mounted: Now you can change fashions mid-conversations on GeminiApp with out having to begin over.” The publish acquired greater than 100 replies, together with many from customers thanking him.

Woodward is thought for responding on to customers on X and Reddit, and brings suggestions to workers to allow them to deal with complaints, mentioned Jason Spielman, a former designer at NotebookLM.  

“It is that degree of dedication to the top consumer I hadn’t seen in different leaders,” mentioned Spielman, who left Google in January to affix Martin at Huxe.

At a Google all-hands assembly final December, Woodward took the microphone because the Zombie Nation music “Kernkraft 400” blared within the background. 

“I’ll attempt to do six demos in eight minutes,” Woodward instructed the viewers, in line with audio obtained by CNBC. 

He began with Jules, a coding assistant. He confirmed off NotebookLM, which had obtained a number of updates. He then moved to Undertaking Mariner, an AI-powered multitasking Chrome extension, and demoed AI video generator Veo and experimental AI software Whisk. He additionally confirmed mission Maya, a picture era software inbuilt collaboration with the Google Procuring crew. 

Attendees erupted in applause after seeing all the demos work in actual time. 

Forward of final 12 months’s I/O occasion, Woodward prompt Google host a second present tailor-made to staffers, in line with two workers.

Pichai shortly greenlit the proposal and dispatched Woodward’s Labs groups to make it a actuality. The end result was Demo Slam, the place workers confirmed off fast demos to an viewers of their friends, who may additionally strive the merchandise. It was such a success that Google hosted a second Demo Slam in Could, the identical week as I/O.

Expectations are excessive for Woodward, and Google broadly, to proceed delivering new AI options in 2026. However with 2025 wrapping up, Pichai sees the corporate using excessive.

“The momentum has been unimaginable to see,” Pichai mentioned at a current all-hands assembly. “We have been delivery at a reasonably quick tempo throughout the corporate”

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