Google ended 2025 with a company blog post listing 40 ways to use the AI features it shipped during the year. The list, published in December, spans the Gemini app, Search, Photos, Maps, Workspace, Chrome and Pixel devices, and it offers a useful map of where the company concentrated its consumer AI effort over twelve months that included three Gemini model generations and the launch of AI Mode in Search.
The post is marketing rather than a neutral review, and several items describe features that are limited to paid plans, newer Pixel hardware or the United States. Read as a summary of Google’s priorities, though, it is informative. The items fall into five broad groups.
Learning and research
Google highlights Gemini 3’s ability to turn complex scientific and technical topics into visual guides, and to convert research papers into interactive web pages. In Search, AI Mode can build calculators and simulations on the fly in response to a question. NotebookLM gained a choice between fast and deep research modes, plus flashcards and quizzes generated from a user’s notes. A Simplify feature in Chrome and the iOS Google app rewrites dense web text in plainer language, and Guided Learning in Gemini is pitched at homework help.
Travel and getting around
Gemini can be used hands-free while driving through Android Auto. Flight Deals, a Google Flights tool, accepts natural-language descriptions of a trip and returns cheap options. AI Mode’s Canvas can assemble a full travel plan, Maps can build saved lists from screenshots, and Circle to Search provides on-screen lookups and continuous translation inside any app.
Creative work
This is the largest group. Google Photos added voice-driven editing and AI templates that restyle pictures. The Nano Banana image model is built into Search and Gemini for generating and editing images, and its Pro version can produce slide decks. Gemini can turn photos into short videos with audio, generate illustrated storybooks and compile recipe books from pictures of dishes. For filmmakers, Veo and the Flow editing tool are offered as an AI production pipeline, and Google also points to “vibe coding” in AI Studio for building small apps by description.
Daily tasks and devices
On Pixel phones and the Pixel Watch, Gemini works without the “Hey Google” wake phrase, handles call screening messages and surfaces context through Magic Cue. In Search, an agentic feature can call local businesses on a user’s behalf to check availability. Gemini supports scheduled tasks, Gemini Live can troubleshoot a problem the user shows through the camera, Chrome can summarize multiple open tabs, and Google Home accepts automations described in plain language. Custom Gems and conversational shopping in AI Mode round out the group.
Work and Workspace
For professional use, Google lists NotebookLM’s document-to-video overviews, meeting-time suggestions in Gmail, an AI function in Google Sheets for in-cell analysis, and the ability to connect Gemini Deep Research to Gmail and Drive so reports draw on a user’s own files.
Google’s framing is that 2025 was about making AI more helpful rather than merely more capable. The list supports a narrower conclusion: the company spent the year wiring Gemini into nearly every product it owns, and the pace of that integration, more than any single feature, is what distinguishes its position going into 2026.
