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Inside Google's AI turnaround: The rise of AI Mode, strategy behind AI Overviews, and their vision for AI-powered search | Robby Stein (VP of Product, Google Search)

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Inside Google's AI turnaround: The rise of AI Mode, strategy behind AI Overviews, and their vision for AI-powered search | Robby Stein (VP of Product, Google Search)

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Oct 10
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

Oct 10
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Robby Stein is VP of Product at Google, where he oversees the core products of Google Search—including the new AI Overviews, AI Mode, search ranking, Google Lens, and more. Previously, he led consumer products at Instagram, where he and his teams built Sto...

Highlights

Google is in the midst of a transformative shift, driven by rapid advancements in AI and a renewed focus on user-centric innovation. Under Robby Stein’s leadership, the company is redefining what search can be—moving beyond keywords to conversational, context-aware experiences that feel intuitive and natural. This evolution reflects a deeper commitment to solving real user problems through relentless iteration and bold product thinking.
08:18
AI is expansionary, leading to more questions and broader search use
09:41
AI Mode combines search, vision, and conversation into one unified experience
17:51
AI accesses Google Search signals to verify information and detect spam
18:50
The AI interface is becoming more human-like, allowing users to steer AI with natural language.
21:38
Continuous improvement leads to a tipping point where products become truly useful.
34:37
Not making the best product for specific use-cases robs users.
35:20
Use the Jobs to Be Done framework to uncover growth opportunities in mature products.
43:39
A small team tested a new AI page after seeing demand for direct access and follow-up questions.
48:05
Organizational urgency and technology availability enabled Google's fast AI shift
49:51
AI Mode focuses on effortless, contextual information with links to authoritative sources
53:55
Design for clarity over cleverness to improve user experience.
57:11
Users added only two people to 'Close Friends' because the original name 'favorites' felt too exclusive.
1:05:34
External validation means people use your product because it's useful, not because they know you
1:09:18
Be curious and chase knowledge to stay inspired in the AI era
1:11:20
Google's new conversational search helps kids engage with AI naturally
1:17:08
Reached out to Scooter Braun via email to solve the cold-start problem

Chapters

Introduction to Robby Stein
00:00
Google’s recent success with AI
04:46
The evolution of Google Search
06:08
AI Mode and its impact
09:41
The rise of AEO
15:30
Building successful AI products
18:50
 Embodying relentless improvement
21:31
Lessons from Instagram Stories
30:10
Driving growth in established products
35:20
Balancing optimization and innovation
40:08
The journey of AI Mode: From launch to expansion
43:39
Organizational changes and urgency
48:05
AI Mode vs. competitors
49:51
Core product principles
51:35
Instagram’s Close Friends feature
57:07
The importance of resources in development
1:03:01
AI corner
1:06:39
Curiosity and learning
1:11:19
Lightning round and final thoughts
1:15:01

Transcript

Lenny Rachitsky: It feels like something has changed internally at Google. Just last week, Google Gemini hit the number one app in the App Store. I feel like nobody saw this coming. Robby Stein: Google's mission around having any information be universall...