Alphabet tops Apple in market cap as Google turns Gmail into a Gemini-powered AI hub

Summary

CNBC's MacKenzie Sigalos explains Google's rollout of Gemini features in Gmail, which are on by default for U.S. users and can access full inbox history unless users opt out. She says the move is part of Alphabet's broader push to embed Gemini across its consumer products, giving it a distribution advantage over competitors like ChatGPT. She notes Wall Street is buying Alphabet, which recently passed Apple in market cap, and Cantor upgraded Google shares to Overweight with a $370 target. The segment also discusses regulatory and privacy concerns in Europe and declining ChatGPT traffic.

• Google rolled out Gemini features in Gmail for over 3 billion users, default-on in the U.S. with manual opt-out.
• The features can draft emails and surface answers using inbox history, but Google says emails are not used to train Gemini's underlying model.
• MacKenzie Sigalos says Alphabet's broad consumer reach gives it a major AI distribution advantage over ChatGPT.
• Alphabet passed Apple in market cap and Cantor upgraded Google shares to Overweight with a $370 target.
• The segment notes regulatory and privacy scrutiny, including a new lawsuit and different opt-in rules in Europe and Japan.
• Similarweb data showed ChatGPT visits declining sequentially while Gemini usage jumped nearly 30% after the Gemini 3 rollout.