Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai defended Google's AI strategy on the company's earnings call on 22 July 2026, conceding that Google has to accelerate on AI coding after the delayed Gemini 3.5 Pro left investors questioning whether it can keep pace with OpenAI, Anthropic, and a rising number of Chinese AI labs. Gemini 3.5 Pro, an important model for AI coding and autonomous agents, was expected to arrive in June and has since been postponed, fuelling concern that Google's broader AI development pace is slipping.Pichai laid the challenge out in the open during the call, pointing to strong adoption of Gemini Flash in practical applications while previewing Gemini 4 as the model that would push Google towards releasing updated large language models at close to a quarterly cadence. The reassurances fell short of steadying the stock: Alphabet shares dropped more than 3 per cent in after-hours trading following the call, even as cloud revenue grew 82 per cent and sailed past estimates.About The AuthorAshna is a content writer who focuses on making everyday choices easier and smarter. With a strong eye for detail and a natural sense of what works in real life, she creates content that feels honest, relatable, and genuinely helpful. She is a geek for writing stories around fashion, beauty, and influential products, while bringing the same depth and detail in reviewing tech products and gadgets of day-to-day use.