Google’s Gemini nears billion-user milestone

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1:39Google's Gemini nears the billion user milestone. I'm Emron Jake and your daily crunch for Friday featuring three big tech headlines starts right now. Amazon announced on Thursday that it's bringing games to Prime Video by integrating its Luna Cloud Gaming service into the streaming platform. Now, games including Hogwarts Legacy, EA Sports, FC26, Indiana Jones, and The Great Circle, Clue, and Taboo will be available starting today on Fire TVs in the US and UK. With this move, Amazon is hoping gamers can turn Prime Video into a one-stop entertainment destination, borrowing a strategy from Netflix, which has increasingly embraced party games over the past several years.

2:21Of course, since Amazon already operates a gaming service, it makes sense for the tech giant to integrate it into its streaming platform. Alongside third-party titles and cult classics like Taboo, the game's library will also feature titles developed by Amazon's own gaming division, including its Courtroom Chaos Games and the co-op card battler Masters of the Universe Legends Unite. Amazon says its vision is to remove the barriers to gaming and make it accessible to anyone, regardless of their experience or budget. Prime members can now access the new Games tab on Prime Video and start playing on their TV using a controller or their phone.

2:58Amazon says it'll add new games every month. Thursday, Apple announced a new set of developer tools that'll let automakers embed Apple Maps navigation and mapping directly into their vehicle's infotainment systems. Now, the software development kit called MapKit for Automotive will debut with Ford and its new line of electric vehicles starting with a$30 ,000 midsize truck in 2027. Ford is placing a hefty bet on its next generation of EVs, which it has promised will be affordable and efficient while still offering the latest tech. Features like Apple Maps integration may seem minor compared to Ford's decision to use single-piece aluminum unicastings for the vehicle, which are large components cast as one piece to eliminate parts and allow for faster assembly.

3:46But the Apple Maps integration is central to Ford's plan to deliver more responsive features to owners, such as navigation that includes efficient routing design for EVs and turn-by-turn directions with natural language capabilities. Drivers will be able to see real-time traffic and incident information, search for destinations, and view detailed place info. Importantly, Apple MapKit runs natively in the vehicle and is separate from Apple CarPlay, which mirrors apps from an iPhone onto the vehicle's central display. Ford is Apple's first partner on the new effort. The companies have signed a commercial agreement, but it did not disclose its terms.

4:24Good old Google is about to add another name to its long list of products with more than a billion users, a list that already includes Search, Gmail, Drive, Android, YouTube, and Chrome. The company said during its Q2 2026 call that the AI assistant Gemini now has over 950 million monthly users. The company noted that Gemini users have tripled from last year. Earlier in February, it said that the Gemini app crossed 750 million monthly active users. Now, with this growth, Google's assistant is in line to compete more closely with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which hit 1 billion monthly active users in June.

5:04According to AppFigures, the app has been downloaded over 137 million times on iOS in the last 12 months. In its latest State of AI report, the analytics firm Censortower noted that ChatGPT's market share among AI assistants fell below 50 % for the first time. The report, which looked at H1 2026, also noted that Gemini's share rose to 27.7%. Now, many people already use AI assistant apps as a substitute for search. However, Google reported that its search vertical is going strong, partially thanks to the AI-centric overhaul. During this quarter, its Q &A-style AI mode crossed 1 billion users. The company said that it's driving an incremental increase in search queries.

5:48Google also noted that through hardware engineering, it has reduced the cost of AI mode for the company, despite introducing new models and features. Now let's learn about the latest in start of business news all in about one minute with our friend, producer. Brussels clean up nicely at Sweetgreen. Maple glazed, roasted, and edges perfectly caramelized. Sweetgreen's fall harvest is back on the menu. And the season's most overlooked little green vegetable is dressed to be devoured. You know what to do. Order on the Sweet Green app.