‘When we speak to our customers and partners, they are choosing Google Cloud as their strategic GenAI partner and platform for four distinct reasons,’ says Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian.

Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian is bullish about his company’s new AI launches around Gemini, Google Workspace and cybersecurity today, as he says customers of all shapes and sizes are placing their generative AI future on Google.

“The success of AI depends on an open platform that offers choice, is easy to integrate with existing systems, and is supported by a broad ecosystem,” said Kurian at Google’s Gemini at Work virtual event today.

“When we speak to our customers and partners, they are choosing Google Cloud as their strategic genAI partner and platform for four distinct reasons,” Kurian said.

One main reason why customers are betting on Google Cloud versus competitors like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft is because businesses can create “sophisticated gen AI agents and experiences faster” via Google’s integrated development platform Vertex AI.

[Related: 5 New Google Cloud AI Products And Programs For Partners]

“It sits on top of our world-class infrastructure and is the only unified platform that lets customers discover and access models, tune and augment models, and create, ground, deploy, and manage AI agents and experiences,” Google Cloud’s CEO said today.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based cloud giant is currently on a record annual revenue run rate of over $41 billion.

CEO On Google’s AI Agents, Models Customization And ‘Grounding In Enterprise Truth’

Another reason why organizations are picking Google Cloud is because of its AI agents.

“They can be more productive with our AI agents,” Kurian said. “We offer … purpose-built agents for customer engagement and search. Customers are really appreciating these packaged agents, in addition to building their own.”

The third reason why Kurian said Google Cloud is winning the GenAI arms race is due to the company’s AI foundation models customizability.

“[Customers] can access and customize the best foundation models from both Google and the industry, including Gemini. We are the only cloud provider to offer widely used first-party, third-party, and open models,” the CEO said. “Enterprises want to choose a platform that gives them choice.”

The fourth reason why businesses are picking Google Cloud is due to the company strategy to grounding a foundational model in web information; enterprise data like databases and data warehouses; enterprise applications like ERP, CRM, and HR systems; and other sources of relevant information. Google describes this strategy as “grounding in enterprise truth.”

“This significantly improves response accuracy and completeness and lets them control their brand voice and customer experience,” Kurian said.

Kurian Talks New Gemini In Workspace

Unveiled on Tuesday, Google Cloud’s standalone Gemini app is now included as part of Workspace Business, Enterprise and Frontline.

Customers can now use Gemini directly in Workspace with the Gemini for Workspace add-on in a move to boost productivity with AI.

“We’re making the Gemini app with enterprise-grade data protection available as part of existing Google Workspace subscriptions. Starting next month, customers will have a round-the-clock brainstorming partner, research assistant, and more, to help where they need it most,” Kurian said.

Based on an internal Google analysis of survey data from completed Gemini for Google Workspace pilots, the typical user saved an average of 105 minutes per week, while 75 percent of daily Gemini for Workspace users say it improved the quality of their work.

New Customer Engagement Suite For Google AI

Also on Tuesday, Google Cloud launched a new Customer Engagement Suite with Google AI, which combines the company’s Contact Center AI with its latest GenAI technology.

Kurian said the new solution offers four key benefits including omnichannel features, so users can orchestrate consistent customer experiences across web, mobile, voice, email, and apps with a single platform. The solution also features a multimodal approach to enable customers to use text, voice, and images.

Another benefit is rule-based controls and generative AI so customers can address a broad range of issues.

“For instance, a customer speaking with a bank representative may have to verify their identity through a specific set of verification questions,” said Kurian. “At the same time, they may ask the bank, ‘Tell me what’s the best mortgage offering for me? Can you compare it across the products you offer?’ The first requires a deterministic flow. The second requires a generative flow.”

“All of this can be connected with any customer service application — whether it’s a SaaS application like Salesforce, ServiceNow, SAP, Dynamics, or Oracle — or an on-premise app,” Google Cloud’s CEO said.