Josh Woodward’s Rise: Google’s Gambit to Reclaim Dominance

Josh Woodward: The Unsung Architect of Google’s AI Offensive

In the high-stakes arena of artificial intelligence, where titans like OpenAI and Anthropic are constantly pushing the boundaries, a key figure at Google is quietly orchestrating the search giant’s ambitious AI strategy. Josh Woodward, the 42-year-old Vice President of Google Labs and now the driving force behind the Gemini app, may not command the same public recognition as some of his contemporaries, but within the hallowed halls of Google, his influence is undeniable. His leadership is now more critical than ever as Google races to maintain its standing in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, a domain ignited by the disruptive force of ChatGPT.

Woodward’s journey at Google began with a product management internship in 2009. Over the ensuing years, he has cultivated a reputation for swift execution, an ability to dismantle organizational silos, and a sharp eye for emerging technological trends. These qualities have propelled him to the forefront of Google’s most significant initiatives. As industry analysts predict a fundamental shift in consumer behavior, moving away from traditional search paradigms towards intuitive, AI-powered applications, Google is banking on Woodward to ensure users remain embedded within its ecosystem. This encompasses everything from sophisticated chatbot services and dynamic image generation to immersive video creation and seamless online shopping experiences.

The pressure on Woodward is palpable. In April, as he took the helm of the Gemini app, Google’s position in the AI race appeared precarious. Alphabet’s stock had experienced a significant downturn, and whispers of the company ceding its long-held dominance as the internet’s primary gateway grew louder. Demis Hassabis, the visionary behind Google DeepMind, recognized Woodward’s pivotal role, tasking him with steering Gemini towards its “next evolution.”

A significant turning point arrived in late August with the introduction of Nano Banana, a groundbreaking Gemini feature that allows users to seamlessly merge multiple photos, creating personalized digital figurines. The feature’s virality was almost instantaneous, its popularity surging to a point where it began to strain Google’s custom-designed Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). Amin Vahdat, Google’s head of AI infrastructure, noted at a company all-hands meeting, “Our TPUs almost melted,” highlighting the immense demand. By September, the Gemini app had surpassed an impressive 5 billion images generated and had ascended to the top of Apple’s App Store, unseating OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Nano Banana’s success has paved the way for its integration into other widely used Google products, including Google Lens and Circle to Search.

This surge in AI-driven demand underscores Alphabet’s substantial investment in AI infrastructure. The company announced in its October earnings report that its full-year capital expenditures would range between $91 billion and $93 billion, a notable increase from its previous forecast of $85 billion. This aggressive spending reflects a strategic commitment to capitalize on the anticipated boom in AI-driven businesses.

The market’s sentiment towards Google has undergone a dramatic transformation. Despite a challenging first quarter, Alphabet’s stock has surged by 62% year-to-date, significantly outperforming its megacap peers, including Meta, which has seen a 13% increase. Google reported in October that the Gemini app’s monthly active users had ballooned to 650 million, up from 350 million in March. Furthermore, AI Overviews, a feature that leverages generative AI to synthesize answers to user queries, boasts 2 billion monthly users. OpenAI, meanwhile, reported in October that ChatGPT had reached 800 million weekly active users.

The launch of Gemini 3 in November, Google’s latest AI model, further ignited excitement across the tech sector. “I’ve never had more fun than right now,” Woodward shared with CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa shortly after the release. “It’s partly the pace. It’s partly the abilities these models give to people who can imagine use cases and products.” Clay Bavor, now a co-founder of AI startup Sierra, lauded Woodward’s early recognition of large language models’ potential for product development, emphasizing his ability to “get his mind fully around a new technology, to see around corners, to see how it might evolve and how it might be used.”

**Navigating the Ethical Tightrope of AI Advancement**

Woodward’s current mandate involves not only leading critical AI units but also striking a delicate balance between the rapid innovation required to compete with rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic, and the imperative to ensure Google’s AI products do not inadvertently cause harm. This challenge is magnified as AI permeates everyday life, fueling concerns about the proliferation of misinformation and the growing difficulty for consumers to discern authentic content from AI-generated material.

Reflecting on these complexities in a podcast interview prior to assuming leadership of the Gemini app, Woodward acknowledged the transformative power of AI. He pointed to the rapid advancements in AI-generated video, spurred by the launch of OpenAI’s Sora, and stated, “When I’m thinking of video, for example, I’m on the side of wanting to amplify human creativity, but there are these moments that happen in our valley here where things change. And they change often for generations. And they can change for good or bad.”

The Nano Banana Pro, released in November, has faced scrutiny for its sophisticated image generation capabilities, which have blurred the lines between real and AI-created visuals. The product drew criticism for generating images of white women surrounded by Black children in response to a prompt about humanitarian aid in Africa, illustrating the complex ethical considerations inherent in AI development.

Despite the immense pressure and the gravity of his responsibilities, Woodward’s demeanor remains notably calm and approachable. Colleagues often describe his infectious, good-natured laugh and a disarming friendliness that stems from his Midwestern roots. Caesar Sengupta, who collaborated with Woodward on early Google projects, remarked, “I’ve never seen him get angry with anyone,” and even playfully suggested Woodward might one day lead Google.

Woodward joined Google Labs in 2022, and according to Bavor, was the ideal candidate to spearhead its initiatives. One of the team’s early successes was Project Tailwind, an AI-powered notebook conceptualized during Google’s “20% time” initiative. Woodward guided the project through various iterations, eventually leading to NotebookLM, a popular tool that analyzes user-uploaded content and provides summaries and insights.

To build NotebookLM, Woodward sought out an unconventional collaborator: Steven Johnson, an acclaimed author known for his works on the history of science and technology, who had no prior experience in the tech industry or with Google. Woodward, an admirer of Johnson’s work, facilitated his joining Google Labs as a visiting scholar, transitioning to a full-time role in May 2023.

With Google’s annual I/O developer conference looming, Woodward conceived the idea of demonstrating an audio feature for NotebookLM as a test of Google’s evolving AI capabilities. The team worked tirelessly to meet the deadline. Raiza Martin, a senior product manager on the project, recalled Woodward’s intervention when she sought to use Discord for user feedback, overriding internal preferences for Google’s own tools. “In true Google fashion, everyone was like ‘What is Discord?'” Martin recounted, highlighting Woodward’s willingness to “let them cook” and embrace external platforms when beneficial. The Discord server associated with NotebookLM now boasts over 200,000 members.

At the I/O conference, Woodward’s presentation of Project Tailwind, a concept developed by a small team in just a few weeks, captivated the audience. He demonstrated the app’s ability to instantly extract key concepts and generate questions from uploaded documents, emphasizing its “citations” feature as a testament to its transparency. NotebookLM, initially released in July 2023, has since been enhanced with podcasting, audio, and video functionalities.

Woodward’s academic background includes an economics degree from the University of Oklahoma and postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford, where he researched the impact of foreign aid on democracy. His career at Google began in 2009 with a product management internship, followed by various product management roles. He was an early and integral member of the Next Billion Users (NBU) project, an initiative aimed at understanding users in emerging markets. His concise and insightful weekly newsletters for the NBU project became highly sought after.

Colleagues consistently praise Woodward’s ability to navigate Google’s complex organizational structure. He was instrumental in establishing “block,” a system for flagging and addressing roadblocks within Google Labs, ensuring projects like NotebookLM received the necessary resources, such as TPUs. “It’s been very cool that we have someone who can take care of the annoying stuff, and we’re able to just get to the users,” commented Usama Bin Shafqat, a Google Labs software engineer.

Woodward also introduced “Papercuts,” a process designed to resolve minor usability issues. His proactive engagement extends to direct interaction with users on platforms like X and Reddit, where he actively solicits feedback and ensures it reaches the product teams. Jason Spielman, a former designer at NotebookLM, noted, “It’s that level of commitment to the end user I hadn’t seen in other leaders.”

During a recent Google all-hands meeting, Woodward showcased a rapid-fire series of six AI demos in just eight minutes, including coding assistant Jules, NotebookLM, Chrome extension Project Mariner, AI video generator Veo, experimental tool Whisk, and image generation tool Maya. The audience’s enthusiastic applause underscored the impressive progress being made.

He also played a key role in the creation of “Demo Slam,” an internal event where employees showcase their projects, a concept that quickly gained traction and led to a second event coinciding with the annual I/O conference.

As 2025 draws to a close, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sees the company riding a wave of AI momentum. “The momentum has been incredible to see,” Pichai stated at a recent all-hands meeting. “We’ve been shipping at a pretty fast pace across the company.” The expectations for Woodward and Google’s AI division in 2026 remain exceptionally high, with the company poised to continue its aggressive innovation in the generative AI space.