The first Google I/O conference left me scratching my head: Who benefits from all this AI?

Four days ago, I arrived in Mountain View, California, to cover my first feature Google I/O Developers Conference, anticipating the showmanship and hype around AI I’m used to hearing In such events. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve certainly had my share of AI hype as Google becomes, in the words of one of its employees, “unashamedly agent-first.”

But in reality, what I found was a city divided into two parts.

The Google I/O keynote sparkled with flashy demos. Executives took the stage to talk about lifestyle uses of the new AI, staging scenes of curated trips and polished demos of parties planned by assistants. Behind the scenes and on stage, the message was a limitless possibility. Outside the tents, on the streets, and in the rideshare queue, the mood was very different.

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My Uber driver drove me from the airport through downtown Palo Alto. He asked me why I was in town, and after I told him, he nodded and said he had recently been laid off from Google. He was polite and practical, talking about getting a full-time rideshare job and relying on friends and family. He asked me what I thought of the company and its latest innovations before we parted ways.

It was an ordinary conversation, but it stuck with me because this was a humanitarian outcome for a company that was, on stage, selling experiences that felt aimed at the 1%, while most of us are only focused on basic stability amid the rising costs of living.

My colleague Andrew Lanxon He recently wrote a great review About how Google assumes we’re all rich, sexy, young, fit, and did I mention rich? There has been some pushback to this deluge of marketing demos showing how Google’s technology can be used to plan elaborate trips abroad and shopping sprees, and oh, Paris Hilton is here, why not?

Marketing should be somewhat aspirational, but it shouldn’t be off-putting. This has led many to wonder: Who is this technology for? It doesn’t seem to resonate.

No, really, who is all this AI for?

This tension was with me when I went to work at the I/O conference this year. I was able to sit down with Sameer Samat, head of the Android ecosystem at Google, and he said he believes the key is to “be very intentional about using this technology,” and that the goal is to “make this technology accessible to people and make them feel like it can help them in their daily lives.” So I asked him directly about the recent pushback (as described in Lankson’s previous story) and how it seems like a lot of people don’t really feel like this technology is within their reach.

“We’ll always have an aspirational element to it, but the way we see people using it is really for things that kill time and are boring in their daily lives,” Samat said. “Especially with Android 17, we’re releasing a lot of things whose goal is to try to take you back in time.”

For example, the silent said that when he uses the newly revealed Android XR smart glassesIt’s doing things like trying to fix your air conditioner at home, with the goal of reducing the time it would take to read a long instruction manual or call a technician. These glasses would be useful for things like assembling IKEA furniture or helping with your kids’ homework, he said, describing exactly those basic everyday uses that resonate with so many people.

So where was this talk about everyday use during the actual keynote?

Realize that product teams want tools that are useful at scale. But the marketing and certain moments on stage during the keynote looked different. What audience is Google trying to reach?

I understand that large companies often manage multiple pipelines simultaneously. There is ambitious marketing that attracts the attention of investors. Then there is problem solving at the product level that targets the mass market. The problem arises when those paths become blocked This is amazing Different directions, and it becomes difficult to analyze intentions.

How can Google attract the other 99%?

So I started thinking about how Google could bring its latest technology to 99% of the world’s population. I’ve come up with three ways Google can make its messaging and demos seem more relatable to everyday people and still grab headlines.

For starters, focus on the small, tangible moments in key demos. Pick one everyday problem and show how the product solves it from start to finish. Not a vacation montage, but a short, believable story like a parent using glasses to help their child with homework, a nurse pulling up patient notes hands-free, or someone fixing a leaky tube with step-by-step AI guidance. These are emotional, relatable, and scalable.

Then, Google can use real, uncut users on stage. Instead of attracting celebrities and executives, invite everyday people who can actually use technology in everyday jobs. Authenticity sells benefit better than celebrity or executive endorsement. Audiences trust the live experience more than production values.

Finally, Google can link feature announcements to affordability and accessibility plans. If a capability requires sophisticated hardware or an expensive subscription, the company can pair it with a clear plan for lower-cost access, barter programs, or partnerships with community organizations.

It left the I/O with mixed signals. I left feeling that Google’s storytelling could do more to reflect the reality of the majority of people who will not only live with this technology, but will be directly affected by it — you, me, and everyone who gets laid off when the tech giant goes after AI in everything, including our sweet Uber driver. The opportunity to transform mundane moments is just as powerful as the opportunity to create dazzling new experiences. Bringing product narratives into everyday utility would make a company’s more ambitious claims seem more truthful.

If Google wants to close the disconnect it has created, it should show less theatrical fantasy and more ordinary life. This, more than any celebrity appearance, will tell people why these things matter.

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