Google’s 2024 AI Features You Might Have Missed

Earlier Tuesday, Google hosted its annual Made by Google hardware event, but many details were overlooked due to the overwhelming volume of announcements

We have collected a selection of the more intriguing AI-related announcements that received minimal attention, such as Pixel Screenshots, which assists in organizing and storing information in screenshots, and the image-generating Pixel Studio.

Your conversations are summarized in Call Notes.

Call Notes could be beneficial for individuals with short-term memory difficulties, such as this writer.

Call Notes, accessible on the Pixel 9 family of devices, records a concise account of your conversation after a call. The call log on your phone retains the transcript and the specifics.

If that sounds like a prospective privacy nightmare, you are not mistaken. According to Google, Call Notes is entirely on-device and notifies all participants when recording is underway. However, we will have to wait for guidance from security professionals.

Pixel Studio is a novel application that generates images.

Pixel Studio is an image-generating application exclusive to the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It is fueled by an on-device generative AI model and Google’s Imagen 3 model, which is hosted in the cloud. Pixel Studio allows you to input prompts to generate whatever inspires you, add stickers, and make adjustments and changes after the fact.

If that sounds like a prospective privacy nightmare, you are not mistaken. According to Google, Call Notes is entirely on-device and notifies all participants when recording is underway. However, we will have to wait for guidance from security professionals.

Pixel Studio is a novel application that generates images.

Pixel Studio is an image-generating application exclusive to the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold. It is fueled by an on-device generative AI model and Google’s Imagen 3 model, which is hosted in the cloud. Pixel Studio allows you to input prompts to generate whatever inspires you to add stickers and make adjustments and changes after the fact.

Despite the on-device component, Pixel Studio requires a consistent internet connection. However, these creations can be shared with contacts via Google Messages.

Google PR informed my colleague Ivan Mehta that Pixel Studio cannot produce human faces. This is likely due to Gemini’s regrettable errors earlier this year. However, the spokesperson declined to specify whether there were any additional precautions in place to prevent the application from producing potentially detrimental images.

Pixel screenshots are searchable.

If you are anything like me, you take screenshots of various items, including QR codes, boarding passes, and tickets, to facilitate future access. However, photographs are not particularly search engine-friendly. That is why they are such a nuisance when locating a particular item.

Pixel Screenshots, a new application that employs artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the content of screenshots, including any captured text, people, and objects, is a fortunate development for those who will soon own a Pixel 9. Google Photos has already implemented this feature; however, Pixel Screenshots operates locally.

Google provides the following vivid illustration: “Suppose your friend, fond of squirrels, is approaching her birthday.” You can browse Google Chrome to find a gift for them, taking screenshots of squirrel shirts, squirrel coasters, and any other items you believe they would enjoy. Pixel Screenshots will analyze the content of all those images, and the information will be searchable within the app.

Therefore, all you will need to do is launch the application and conduct a search for “squirrel.” The results will be displayed. It will also contain links to the sources from which you obtained all the information and a concise summary of the content you are currently viewing, complete with pertinent content.

Door codes and addresses can be searched for across photos with the assistance of Pixel Screenshots.