In a carefully worded announcement on Monday, Apple said John Giannandrea, who has been the company’s AI chief since 2018, is “stepping down” to, well, not work at Apple anymore. He’ll stick around through spring as an advisor.His replacement is Amar Subramanya, a highly regarded Microsoft executive who spent 16 years at Google, most recently leading engineering for the Gemini Assistant. It’s a savvy hire, given that Subramanya knows the competition intimately. The move is being characterized as a shake-up ...

AI Integration in Chrome - Google is rolling out its Gemini Assistant to all Chrome users in the US on Mac, Windows, and mobile devices [1] - Gemini will help users work seamlessly across tabs and apps, accessing YouTube, Maps, and Calendar without leaving the current page [1] - Agentic capabilities, such as scheduling meetings or ordering groceries, will be introduced in the coming months [1][2] Competitive Landscape - Startups like OpenAI and Perplexity are challenging Google's search monopoly [3] - Browsers have become the front line in the battle for AI dominance [2] Strategic Focus - Google intends to keep Chrome and its search business at the center of how billions of people access the internet [3] - Gemini will be available to businesses in the coming weeks via Google Workspace with enterprise-grade data protections [2]