How Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s 3-year-old statement in email to employees is coming to be true

Google CEO Sundar Pichai's statement from three years ago is proving to be true. During the frantic early days of the AI arms race, when critics questioned the company’s AI strategy even as OpenAI's ChatGPT wowed users worldwide, Pichai reassured employees that Google's slow and steady approach would ultimately be successful – much like products such as Gmail, Chrome and Android – which weren't first to market but eventually came to dominate their respective categories.

“I know this moment is uncomfortably exciting, and that’s to be expected: the underlying technology is evolving rapidly with so much potential,” Pichai said in an email on February 15, 2023. “Some of our most successful products were not first to market. They gained momentum because they solved important user needs and were built on deep technical insights,” he added.




Fast forward to February 2026, and that patience appears to have been rewarded. Google-parent Alphabet silenced critics who once thought it was lagging behind OpenAI, as the company reported a blockbuster Q4 that saw its annual revenue exceed $400 billion for the first time in its history.

Gemini 3 launch proves turning point for Google

The launch of Gemini 3 in November proved to be the turning point for Google’s consumer and enterprise adoption. The company reported that the Gemini app reached 750 million monthly active users (MAUs) by year-end. While still trailing ChatGPT’s 800 million weekly users (as of October), the gap is narrowing as Google integrates “AI Mode” directly into its dominant Search engine.

“We are also seeing significantly higher engagement per user, especially since the launch of Gemini 3 in December,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the call on Wednesday (February 4).

According to the company, it not only saw consumer uptick but also a surge in enterprise AI licenses that reached to 8 million paying users, as companies migrate toward Google’s integrated workspace. Perhaps the most significant ‘technical insight’ Pichai flagged was a 78% reduction in Gemini’s serving costs over the past year, achieved through full stack approach used for model optimisation.

Meanwhile, Google’s subscription business also flourished with 325 million paid subscribers across YouTube Premium and Google One. This puts Google on par with Netflix, which reported an identical subscriber count last month.

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