AI Search is growing and advancing at a rapid clip. Google, OpenAI, and others are driving forward with new features and functionality at an incredible pace (maybe too fast, but that’s for another post). While helping clients, I’m often asked where this is all headed… And when that question pops up, I bring up my post from early 2023 about Google’s code red and the idea of Jarvis. I wrote that right after ChatGPT launched.
In my opinion, the end-goal for AI Search is an AI assistant that knows everything about you, is with you all the time, it’s ambient (active 24/7), and can answer any question you have based on your history, where you’ve been, your health conditions, your interests, likes, dislikes, and more. You know, like Jarvis in Iron Man.
Smart people from Google and OpenAI have explained this many times in interviews, podcasts, videos, and more. And Andrej Karpathy, one of the cofounders OpenAI, even had “building a kind of Jarvis” in his X bio!
This is why I’m really excited about Personal Intelligence, the latest feature that Google rolled out to Gemini and AI Mode. Note, I’m also in the early access program for Gemini so I had the opportunity to test Personal Intelligence a bit before it rolled out. That said, it’s stronger and more advanced than what I tested.
I’ll cover more about this below, including examples of Personal Intelligence in action, the impact to SEO, AI Search, and to anyone attempting to track visibility and performance in AI Search. Spoiler alert! It’s going to be hard… very hard.
Personal Intelligence rolls out in Gemini:
Google rolled out Personal intelligence on Tuesday, January 20, 2025 enabling paid Gemini users to tap into Gmail, Search, Google Photos, and YouTube when providing answers. As you can guess, this can be extremely powerful and helpful for users. And I know there are security and privacy concerns. I totally get that and have shared about that across social media. But, I still believe this is where everything is headed. And again, it’s incredibly powerful.
For example, you could:
Ask for specific things based on what you’ve done already, where you have been, who you have communicated with, what you’ve watched, and more (as Gemini taps into your email, Search history, photos, and YouTube history.)
Gemini can recommend products and services for you based on what it knows about you. Again, super powerful.
It can provide information tailored to you based on your interests, your previous trips, emails, and more. Again, this is exactly what I was referring to when writing about Jarvis in early 2023. I’ll cover several examples of this in action soon, but first I’ll cover phase two of the rollout, which was AI Mode.
Personal Intelligence in AI Mode:
The next phase was rolling out Personal Intelligence to AI Mode so users can tap into their history when searching Google and not just Gemini. So now Personal Intelligence is impacting Google Search for users and not just their AI assistant.
Again, a great way to understand the power is by providing some examples. I’ll start with Personal Intelligence in Gemini and then show examples of that working in AI Mode.
Let’s jump in!
First up, I asked Gemini for some help remembering what I bought at Penn State the last time I was there. I just wanted to see if it could figure that out. Yep, it did.
On the topic of sports, I then asked Gemini for some golf bunker shot training videos from trainers I have watched before on YouTube. Yep, it knows the two that stand out, especially for short-game training.
Next up, how about recipe recommendations… and Gemini knew that I visit Inspired Taste often (Hi Adam!)
Sorry, more sports. I asked Gemini where I sat at Yankee Stadium the last time I went to a game. Yep, it knew and provided my photos. Great game by the way, the Yankees won and beat the Astros. :)
How about a wine recommendation based on my interests. Gemini nailed that too based on my Search history and my photos. Are you seeing how powerful this can be when an AI assistant knows a lot about you? And how this can impact ecommerce revenue for companies?
Then I needed some help remembering a great restaurant I went to a few years ago in New Brunswick, NJ. No problem, Gemini quickly helped.
How about the latest news on a topic based on my favorite publications. Gemini did that well too. And if you’re a publisher out there, a big heads-up that personal intelligence could impact visibility of articles depending on what it thinks the user’s favorite publications are.
Personal Intelligence in AI Mode: Examples
Let’s switch to AI Mode now. Remember, Google rolled out Personal Intelligence in AI Mode soon after the original announcement about Gemini. First, I asked for keyboard recommendations based on my history. Hey, I type a lot and keyboards are important. :) Check the three screenshots below and the justifications. I’ll cover the Personal Intelligence icons after the examples.
Then I asked AI Mode to recommend some football jerseys for me to buy. Based on my history, it was spot-on. “Go Dukes” and “We are”.
Then I asked AI Mode to create an agenda for things to do in Princeton based on what it knows about me. Sounds like a pretty good day to me. Palmer Square, Princeton sports, and then a great place for dinner (again, based on what it knows about me). It knows those are some of my favorite restaurants.
And the final example I’ll provide is asking AI Mode to recommend some led signs based on the last sign I purchased. It nailed it and provided the photo I took as well.
And that links to my photo in Google Photos. Gotta love “Spy vs Spy”. It sort of reminds me of the SEO industry, right?
You may have noticed new icons in AI Mode when Personal Intelligence is being used. You can click those to reveal where Personal Intelligence found that information. And then you can click through to see that information (like the photo example above). You can see icons representing each of the services that Personal Intelligence taps into (like Google Photos, Gmail, YouTube, etc.)
What’s Next? Jarvis travels with you:
Like I explained earlier, I believe an Ambient Gemini that’s powered by Personal Intelligence is coming. In other words, we get even closer to Jarvis via an AI-powered device that’s with you all the time, can see what you are seeing, can hear what you are hearing, and it’s always ready to provide a personalized answer. Again, like Jarvis in Iron Man (less the titanium suit and weapons).
And Google is not alone here with moving towards Jarvis. Both OpenAI and Apple are working on AI devices that will be ambient. OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s company and is moving quickly to launch an AI device that’s ambient (without a screen btw). And Apple is rumored to be working on an AI pin with dual cameras and a microphone.
So the race to Jarvis is real and Google has a big advantage in my opinion… DATA. Google has tons of data to help inform Jarvis, including email, Search, YouTube, photos, calendar, maps, and more. OpenAI doesn’t have any of that. And we’ll have to see how far Apple goes with tapping into user data to inform their version of Jarvis. Privacy is very important to Apple so time will tell how their AI device actually works for users. So to me, Personal Intelligence should yield a GIANT code red at OpenAI and other AI companies. And that would be the second code red at OpenAI. It will be interesting to see how OpenAI responds… if it can. Stay tuned.
Impact to Marketers, SEO, AEO, Analytics Tracking, Visibility Tools and more:
First, good luck trying to track AI answers when they are hyper-personalized via something like Personal Intelligence. And also good luck trying to impact those answers with some AEO/GEO tricks. Instead, companies will need to do real marketing (which many SEOs have been helping companies with for some time). It’s not just about identifying keywords and targeting those keywords. It’s about building a brand, providing a great user experience, building amazing content that others cite and link to, and more. And that takes time and serious effort.
From an AI visibility tool perspective, Personal Intelligence throws a serious wrench into tracking answers for real users. If Google is tailoring responses based on the wealth of information and data is has connected to a user account, there is no way for tracking tools to capture that and report on it, period. And I believe we are just beginning with regard to personalization… I think it will only get more and more personal as Google builds its version of Jarvis. Oh, and OpenAI and Apple as well.
I actually shared a video recently of Google’s Robby Stein (VP of Product, Google Search) where he talks about personalization and AI with CNN’s Clare Duffy. My AI antenna always goes up when I hear topics related to Jarvis.
And Google just rolled out a seamless move from AI Overviews to AI Mode, which I’m sure is part of the roadmap to Jarvis. The more people use AI Mode, the more Personal Intelligence can be used. And that’s how Google can form a massive bond between Search and User. Again, Jarvis becomes super-powerful when it knows everything about you. It will be hard to not leverage Jarvis in many ways (and beyond Search). Stay tuned on that front. There’s a lot more to come…
Summary: Personal Intelligence is an important step towards Jarvis.
My recommendation to any site owner is to start testing Personal Intelligence to see how it works, how it tailors responses, connects with Google services, and provides personalized search experiences for users. Again, when the results are hyper-personalized, companies will need to do real marketing and not rely on some tricks or gimmicks. So get ready for Jarvis, it’s coming soon… maybe sooner than we thought.
GG