Google’s IO keynote conference was held yesterday. The company did have a few interesting things to say, but overall Google seems to be slowing down where innovation is concerned. In case you missed the highlights, here’s everything you need to know about what Google is doing now.

Artificial Intelligence

Google made a big deal out of artificial intelligence during the keynote. The company will be putting AI first and foremost when it comes to almost all of their products. Perhaps the biggest push towards AI will be Google Lens.

Lens will make it possible to point your smartphone at any device and wait for your phone to detect what that object is. Lens will use your phone’s camera along with AI technology to identify objects.

Google.ai

Did I mention AI? In true Google fashion, the company will launch a website called Google.ai that showcases AI research and papers from all corners of the world. You won’t just see Google AI developments on this site - you’ll see information about AI from a lot of different companies and researchers.

Google Assistant Gets an Upgrade

Google Assistant will now come with a search option. With the new version, you can type your search into the search bar and get an answer. Prior to search, users had to rely on voice to access Google Assistant’s information. You will also be able to use Google Assistant on your iPhone (just in case you’re tired of Siri).

Google Photos Gets an Upgrade too

The new Google Photos now uses face recognition, and you will be able to print out photobooks with the newest upgrade.

Android O

Google still hasn’t named the latest version of Android, but it is now in beta mode and will come with notification dots, picture-in-picture, and Google autofill. The newest Android devices will also boot faster, have a longer battery life, and be more secure. That’s all that was mentioned about the new Android.

Kotlin (Sorry, Java)

Google is doing away with Java where apps are concerned, so developers can now work with Kotlin.

Google Job Search

Well, you knew that Google would throw some search into the mix, right? Google’s newest search feature is Google Jobs. Google wants to help you find a job by creating a search screen for just that - search Google for jobs.

Last Thoughts

While some of these updates are necessary and will make life better for Android users, Google didn’t really blow minds with the latest updates. The company didn’t announce anything unusual like a new phone or watch or other device - just making things better, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Most of the Google updates are now available through your phone or on the web. Google Jobs is up and running as is Google.ai. Both are interesting enough to look at if you have the time, and Jobs might just prove better to use than most other job search engines, maybe. So that’s the news from Google. Let’s see what other companies come up with this year.