Sundar Pichai pushes back on claims Google is losing ground in AI race

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai used Wednesday’s earnings call to mount a robust defence of Google’s AI strategy, pushing back on concerns that the company has fallen behind rivals after delaying a flagship model and ceding ground in AI coding.

Investors have become increasingly uneasy over Google delaying the release of Gemini 3.5 Pro, a model originally slated for June that was expected to bolster the company’s standing in AI coding and autonomous “agent” tasks, two of the industry’s most fiercely contested areas.