A Google Search executive stated that one of the company’s biggest opportunities in artificial intelligence lies in its ability to understand users better and personalize its responses. The promise is an AI that becomes uniquely helpful because it knows you. However, the risk is an AI that feels more like surveillance than a service.
In a recent podcast interview, Robby Stein, Vice President of Product for Google Search, explained that Google’s AI often handles more advice-seeking queries or requests for recommendations. These types of questions are more likely to benefit from subjective, personalized responses. Stein said the company sees a huge opportunity for its AI to know users better and become uniquely helpful because of that knowledge. He referenced Google’s developer conference, where it discussed how AI could gain a better understanding of users through connected services like Gmail.
Google has been integrating AI into its apps for some time, beginning when its Gemini AI was still known as Bard. More recently, it started pulling personal data into another AI product called Gemini Deep Research. Gemini is now infused across Google Workspace apps, including Gmail, Calendar, and Drive.
But as Google integrates more personal data into its AI—spanning emails, documents, photos, location history, and browsing behavior—the line between a helpful assistant and an intrusive one becomes increasingly blurred. Unlike opt-in services, avoiding Google’s data collection may become harder as AI becomes central to its products.
Google’s pitch is that this deep personalization makes the AI far more useful. The vision is for the AI to learn from a user’s interactions across Google services and use that understanding to provide tailored recommendations. For example, if it learns a user prefers certain products or brands, the AI might favor those in its responses. Stein said this would be much more useful than showing a generic list of best-selling items, calling it the vision for building something truly knowledgeable for each individual.
This concept bears similarity to the fictional AI in the Apple TV show “Pluribus,” where a system called the “Others” uses intimate personal data to anticipate the protagonist’s every need, from cooking her favorite meals to adopting a familiar face for communication. However, the character finds this personalized attention invasive, as she never consented to sharing her data.
Similarly, avoiding Google’s data collection may become increasingly difficult in the AI era. If Google does not get the balance right, the results could feel more creepy than useful. Google does provide controls, allowing users to manage which apps Gemini uses for personalization through settings labeled “Connected Apps.”
If users choose to share app data with Gemini, Google states it will save and use that data according to its privacy policy. That policy reminds users that human reviewers may read some of their data and advises against entering confidential information.
As more data feeds into Google’s systems, it is easy to see how AI could make data privacy more of a gray area. Google believes it has a partial solution. Stein says the company will indicate when its AI responses are personalized, so users understand when information is tailored specifically for them versus being a generic answer everyone would see.
Stein also noted that Google could send push notifications to users, for example, when a product they have been researching online becomes available or goes on sale. He described a future where Google, across various aspects of daily life, becomes incredibly helpful through many integrated features, rather than through any single specific tool.