Google CEO Admits Coding Lag, Discusses AI Strategy and Public Concerns
In a New York Times podcast, Sundar Pichai acknowledged that Google's Gemini is behind in coding, especially for complex long-horizon tasks. He discussed the biggest search redesign in 25 years, public anxiety about AI, and the path to AGI, emphasizing that Google is investing heavily but must move thoughtfully.
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Key points
- Pichai admitted Gemini lags in coding agents and instruction following.
- Google is rolling out the largest search overhaul in 25 years but will not abruptly switch to AI Mode.
- He called public fear of AI understandable but remained optimistic about positive outcomes.
- AGI may arrive sooner than previously thought, requiring careful governance.
Why it matters
This matters because pichai admitted Gemini lags in coding agents and instruction following.
Technical impact
May affect model selection, inference cost, product capability, and evaluation benchmarks.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, recently sat down for an in-depth interview on The New York Times' tech podcast, offering a candid assessment of Google's position in the AI race. Among the most striking admissions was that Google's Gemini model family is lagging in coding capabilities, particularly for complex, multi-step tasks that involve tool calling and long-horizon execution.
"If we look at agentic coding with tool use, instruction following, and long-running tasks that require many steps, I think we are actually a bit behind," Pichai said. He attributed this partly to the absence of products like Anthropic's Claude Code or the usage scenarios enabled by Cursor, which provide rich real-world data for iterative improvement. However, he highlighted that Google's internal Antigravity 2.0 system has seen token usage doubling every week—a sign that developers are actively using the models.
The interview came just after Google I/O 2026, where the company unveiled Gemini 3.5 Flash, Gemini Omni, and Gemini Spark. Pichai acknowledged that the new models are still stabilizing, with usage limits temporarily tightened to prevent outages, but promised improvements soon.
On the topic of search, Pichai addressed the biggest redesign in 25 years, which introduces AI Mode as a new interface. While some users have already shifted entirely to AI-powered search, Pichai emphasized a gradual transition. "We don't want to get too far ahead of what users expect," he said. He stressed that links and traditional web results will remain part of the experience, and that the business model will evolve through a combination of subscriptions and advertising.
Pichai also delved into public anxiety about AI. Citing a recent NYT/Siena poll showing only 16% of Americans view AI positively, he called the fear "understandable." He noted that AI is developing faster than society can digest, and that concerns about jobs, income, and daily life are legitimate. However, he pushed back against overly pessimistic narratives, suggesting that AI will augment human capabilities rather than replace them entirely. He cited examples like doctors spending more time with patients and radiologists handling vastly more data.
When asked about AGI and the concept of a technological singularity, Pichai said he is convinced that fundamental progress is being made toward AGI. "The pace of progress in the last year or two makes me think it might be closer than I previously thought," he said. He agreed with DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis's statement that we are "at the foothills of the singularity," meaning the arrival of AGI. Pichai stressed that all responsible labs must avoid a race mentality and that broader societal dialogue is needed as we approach such a milestone.
Looking ahead, Pichai expressed optimism for the next generation. In a commencement address he is scheduled to give at Stanford, he plans to share his view that AI will democratize abilities like coding, much like spreadsheets transformed financial analysis. While acknowledging disruption, he believes the positive outcomes—more efficiency, more leisure, and new kinds of work—will outweigh the negatives.