Google debuted a pair of new Super Bowl commercials that portray AI as a technology that’s as central to people’s lives as the phone or computer they access it on. But, like some of Google’s other Super Bowl ads, the company is once again attempting to make you pull out your tissues in between plays.
The first ad, titled “Dream Job”, depicts a man using the Gemini Live voice mode on his Pixel phone to prepare for a job interview. After Gemini asks him to talk about “the job that mattered to you most,” the man begins detailing what he’s learned after becoming a parent.
Mostly, the man basically just talks to himself the entire time. Gemini takes a backseat through most of the ad, as it’s simply shown listening and offering suggestions between scenes of the man raising his daughter, which even shows the family dog on death’s door.
The next ad, called Party Blitz, similarly highlights Gemini on Pixel, but it takes on a much more lighthearted tone. A man uses the AI chatbot’s voice mode to learn more about football and come up with phrases he can use to impress his date’s family before they tune into the big game together, like yelling “pass interference!” at the TV. A little corny, but at least it’s not using a dying dog to tug at your heartstrings.
Despite the shift in tone, it seems like Google is really trying to position its AI assistant as a helpful, conversational partner that you can interact with every day, making conducting a regular search on Google seem mundane.
The company also highlighted its AI tools in Workspace in a series of ads highlighting small businesses throughout the US, though one of them showed an incorrect stat in a Gemini response.
