Google’s New AI Tools Are Actually Insane (We Tried Them All)
Summary
- Google has released a suite of "insane" AI tools (Lyria 3, Pomelli, Gemini 3.1) that demonstrate rapid iteration cycles (less than 4 months between major model updates).
- The "Pomelli" tool allows for professional-grade product photography generation from a single image, threatening to displace human photographers and models entirely.
- Google's "multimodality" strategy (integrating video, audio, code, and image generation) is creating a "Creative Cloud on steroids," directly challenging incumbent creative software suites.
- While benchmarks (ARC AGI2) show massive reasoning jumps (+46%), practical user feedback suggests newer models suffer from "overthinking loops," highlighting the volatility of incremental AI updates.
Trade Ideas
"It feels like the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite on steroids for Google... It's free to use... available in Gemini." Adobe's moat is the "Creative Cloud." Google is now offering equivalent or superior tools (product photography, music generation, image editing) for free or at a fraction of the cost. If casual and semi-pro creators switch to Google's integrated (and cheaper) suite, Adobe faces significant churn in its low-to-mid market segment. Short Adobe as their pricing power and market share are eroded by Google's commoditization of creative tools. Professional "power users" may stick with Adobe for granular control that AI tools currently lack.
Ejaaz Ahamadeen
Co-Host, Limitless Podcast (Bankless)
"Google's distribution is just insane... tens of millions of people on day one... It feels like the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite on steroids for Google." Google is successfully pivoting from just "search" to a comprehensive "creation ecosystem." By bundling superior AI tools (Lyria, Pomelli, Gemini) directly into their existing massive user base, they are bypassing the customer acquisition friction that startups face. The rapid iteration (Gemini 3 to 3.1 in 4 months) proves they have regained their engineering velocity. Long Google as they capture the application layer of AI, not just the infrastructure. The "overthinking" bugs in Gemini 3.1 suggest quality control issues could harm trust if not fixed quickly.
Ejaaz Ahamadeen
Co-Host, Limitless Podcast (Bankless)
"There's a lot of photographers that spend a lot of their time and expertise creating these photo shoots that now are pretty much out of a job... fashion models that also may not be able to benefit." Gig economy platforms rely heavily on creative services (graphic design, product photography, modeling). Tools like Pomelli automate these specific tasks instantly for near-zero cost. As demand for human freelancers in these categories collapses, transaction volume on freelance marketplaces will decline. Short freelance platforms as AI automation destroys the "billable hours" model for creative gig work. These platforms may pivot to selling "AI operator" services, though at lower margins.
