Google Gemini reaches 900m users

Google said at its I/O developer conference on May 20 that the Gemini app now has more than 900 million monthly users, up from 400 million a year earlier. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai presented the figure as part of a broader update on how Google is weaving AI into Search, Android, productivity software and the standalone Gemini app. The company also said daily requests in Gemini have grown more than sevenfold over the same period. The disclosures gave Google a new scale argument in a market that has often been framed around model performance rather than product reach. ### Where did the 900 million figure come from? Sundar Pichai gave the number in Google’s opening keynote for I/O 2026 in Mountain View, California, and repeated it in a published transcript on Google’s blog. He said the Gemini app had “surpassed 900 million” monthly active users, compared with 400 million at last year’s conference. Google’s product post on the Gemini app used similar language, saying more than 900 million people in 230 countries and more than 70 languages now use Gemini each month. The same post said the app was serving 400 million users at the time of Google I/O last year. ### How is Google getting that many people to use Gemini? (blog.google) Google tied the growth to product distribution. In his keynote, Pichai said the company was focused on showing “value in the products” people use every day, while Google’s I/O recap highlighted Gemini features being added across Search, shopping, creation tools and developer products. (blog.google) The Gemini app itself also received new features at I/O 2026. Google announced Gemini 3.5 Flash, described as a faster action-oriented model, and introduced more agent-style capabilities in the app, including proactive help and persistent assistance. ### Why does this number matter more than another benchmark chart? (blog.google) Google used additional usage figures to show the scale of adoption beyond the chatbot itself. Pichai said Google is now processing more than 3.2 quadrillion tokens a month across its AI surfaces, up sevenfold from roughly 480 trillion at last year’s I/O. He also said AI Overviews now reach 2 billion users every month. (blog.google) The Philadelphia Inquirer said Google was beginning to “win the AI race” on usefulness and reach because it could place AI inside products people already used. That framing centered less on whether one model leads another on a benchmark and more on whether a company can turn AI into a routine consumer product. ### Is this the whole AI story this week? (blog.google) Anthropic entered a different part of the AI debate on May 22, when Religion News Service reported that co-founder Chris Olah would appear alongside Pope Leo XIV for the release of the pontiff’s first encyclical on artificial intelligence. Vatican News said the document, titled *Magnifica humanitas*, is scheduled for release on May 25 and focuses on safeguarding the human person in the age of AI. (blog.google) Religion News Service described the Vatican-Anthropic collaboration as an unusual pairing that brings a leading AI company into a religious and ethical forum. The report said Olah’s participation reflects growing interest beyond Silicon Valley in how AI systems should be governed and discussed in public life. (religionnews.com) ### What comes next from Google and from the wider AI debate? Google said several I/O announcements are rolling out now, including Gemini Omni Flash for paid Gemini subscribers and some free creative tools on YouTube products. The company also said the Gemini app’s new agentic features are being introduced in stages following the conference. (religionnews.com) The Vatican set May 25 for publication of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, with Chris Olah participating in the launch event, according to Vatican-linked and Religion News Service reports. That gives the next public marker in the AI debate a date, a document and named participants. (vaticannews.va) (blog.google)