The launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 triggered a major internal shift at Google, prompting urgent action and renewed leadership involvement as the company raced to respond to the fast-growing AI wave.
Within 3 weeks of ChatGPT’s release, Google declared a company-wide “Code Red,” according to a report at the time. Teams were asked to pause existing projects and focus entirely on accelerating AI development and launching new features.
One of the most notable developments during this period was the return of co-founder Sergey Brin. In a recent interview, CEO Sundar Pichai recalled how Brin, who had stepped away from daily operations, began actively participating again as pressure mounted.
By early February 2023, Google introduced Bard as its response to ChatGPT. However, the chatbot had already been in development for some time and was not built overnight. The delay in its release was due to concerns around AI “hallucination,” where models generate incorrect or misleading information with confidence. Pichai described Google’s cautious approach as “bold but responsible.”
Despite this, Bard received a lukewarm response from users and critics, who saw it as an underwhelming and rushed competitor. After nearly a year of limited traction, Google rebranded Bard as Gemini in an effort to reset its position in the market.
Behind the scenes, both Sergey Brin and Larry Page became more involved in accelerating Google’s AI efforts. Brin, in particular, played a hands-on role, contributing to hiring, reviewing code, and working closely on technical aspects of model development.
Pichai highlighted the impact of this involvement on employees. “Having the founder of the company sitting together with your engineers sweating out the details of the model — I can’t imagine a more motivating thing for people,” he said.
Brin also appeared in the launch video for “Antigravity,” an advanced AI-powered coding tool built on Gemini 3, further signaling his active role in shaping Google’s AI direction.
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