In an age where digital transactions dominate, a new partnership between Google and PayPal aims to reshape the landscape of e-commerce. This collaboration, announced on September 17, 2025, promises to leverage advanced technologies to create seamless transaction experiences for businesses and consumers alike.
From small business owners to large enterprises, the key benefits of this partnership could significantly enhance digital commerce operations.
The big news from Google earlier today was the arrival of Gemini within the Chrome browser, with a promise of tab awareness and a sidebar assistant that can take steps on users’ behalf. But another important news that flew under the radar was the ability to share custom versions of the Gemini chatbot with other users.
What’s the big picture?
Imagine creating an AI agent that performs a specific task for you. I’ve created a custom version of Gemini called Email Assistant. It helps me with answering emails. All I have to do is copy-paste the contents of an email, type “Yes” or “No,” and it accordingly creates a polite response for those emails.
As Google builds up to the Pixel 10 launch on August 20, the company has posted a cheeky 30-second video on YouTube that playfully throws shade on the delayed AI-enhanced Siri features, which were first announced at WWDC 2024 and meant to land on iPhones in April 2025.
Google Cloud and Spotify are down for tens of thousands of users, according to Downdetector.com. Early reports suggest a massive Cloudflare outage is to blame.
Is Google Down?
The Google Workspace Dashboard noted that the company was “investigating reports of an issue” with a slew of Google services, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Chat, Google Cloud Search, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Meet, Google Tasks, and Google Voice.
“We will provide more information shortly,” the post says. “Our engineers are currently investigating the issue. We apologize to all who are affected by the disruption.”
Google is introducing a new artificial intelligence (AI) mode that more firmly embeds chatbot capabilities into its search engine, aiming to give users the experience of having a conversation with an expert.
The “AI Mode” was made available in the US on Tuesday, appearing as an option in Google’s search bar.
The change, unveiled at the company’s annual developers conference in Mountain View, California, is part of the tech giant’s push to remain competitive against ChatGPT and other AI services, which threaten to erode Google’s dominance of online search.
Google announced on Monday that it has officially released the NotebookLM apps for Android and iOS, a day before Google I/O 2025 and a day before the company said it would roll out.
Since its launch in 2023, the AI-based note-taking and research assistant has only been accessible via desktop. Google has now made the service available on the go.
Every year, Google adds a potpourri of features to Android. Visually, however, it changes only once a few years. The last time Google made significant visual changes, it was with Android 12 over three years ago. In the coming months, Google is expected to kick off another cycle of aesthetic overhaul, with significant changes sprinkled across the UI. These appear right before Google is set to launch Android 16, and has ignites new expectations — but I’m afraid this comes too little, too late.
The redesigned Android interface brings a breath of freshness, with visually engaging colors and completely refreshed sliders across the interface. Even smaller elements, including icons in the status bar, are going under the knife, and coming out slightly more detailed than were in the previous iterations. Many aspects of the interface appear to have adopted a translucent cloak, giving it a more modern look. While the visual impact is undeniable, the timing is rather odd.
Google is being sued in Britain for potential damages of up to £5 billion ($6.6 billion) in a class action alleging the company abused its dominant market position in online search. The class action, filed at the Competition Appeal Tribunal Tuesday, argues that Google’s actions enabled it to charge higher prices for the advertisements that appear in search inquiries than it otherwise could in a competitive market. It said the US company, owned by Alphabet (GOOGL), contracted phone makers to pre-install Google Search and the Chrome browser on Android devices and paid Apple to make it the default search engine on iPhones, with the intention of shutting out competition.
Google just made an announcement that could represent the death of a lot of Android phones.
Starting with Android 15, Google says, the minimum storage capacity of devices will jump up – leaving some devices obsolete.
The new requirement will mean phones, and tablets, will need at least 32GB of capacity in order to run the Android OS.
THE YEAR THAT ChatGPT went viral, only two US companies—OpenAI and Google—could boast truly cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Three years on, AI is no longer a two-horse race, nor is it purely an American one. A new report published today by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) highlights just how crowded the field has become.
The institute’s 2025 AI index, which collates data and trends on the state of the AI industry, paints a picture of an increasingly competitive, global, and unrestrained race toward artificial general intelligence—AI that surpasses human abilities.
OpenAI and Google are still neck and neck in the race to build bleeding-edge AI, the report shows. But several other companies are closing in. In the US, the fiercest competition comes from Meta’s open-weight Llama models; Anthropic, a company founded by former OpenAI employees; and Elon Musk’s xAI.
Dispatches From The Front 